Quote:
Originally Posted by dave8721
My wife's mother was born in Cuba and she has 6 grandchildren (2 are my children) and to her dismay none of them can speak Spanish. US entertainment is just too dominant. Any child who grows up in the U.S. is going end up speaking English and struggle to speak anything else unless a ton of effort is put into maintaining that other language. They may hang on to basics just to communicate with abuela but there is little chance of actual litteracy.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobdreamz
That all depends on the region in the US and like you said the replenishment of new Hispanic immigrants. For instance I see Miami as always being a bilingual city no matter what.
On a personal note I have 4 nieces & nephews (2nd. generation Americans) and only one is fluent in Spanish, the rest can barely speak it let alone write it much to my dismay.
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This is absolutely crazy (and what a failure on the part of the parents!)
This would be equivalent to me having children with my Anglo gf and raising them in, say, Ottawa, and having them grow up unilingual (with only English).
I figure that MAYBE if we move to somewhere like the heart of the USA, then yeah, despite my efforts, maybe my kids won't be fluent in my language... but if they're raised in an environment where it exists to a good degree? No way.
Even in a much less Hispanicized region than Miami (my portfolio is in Brevard County) I've had to use Spanish with handymen and/or my neighbors many times. It would be easy for a child to be in touch with the language there... let alone Miami!