ENGLISH AS NOT A SECOND LANGUAGE STUDY: DESCENDANTS LOSE SPANISH FLUENCY.

Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer

Southern California's Latinos gradually lose Spanish fluency and after a few generations pick up English as their sole language, according to a study released Wednesday.

Questioning arguments that immigrants from Latin American countries threaten to create a separate, monolingual society in America, the study by UC Irvine and Princeton University finds that by the third generation only 7 percent of Mexican-American grandchildren speak fluent Spanish.

``This absolutely knocks out the idea that people are resisting learning English,'' said Ruben G. Rumbaut, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine.

Rumbaut is co-author of the study ``Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern California,'' published in the September issue of the journal Population and Development Review.

``The perception that there is a lot of foreign language speaking going on is correct,'' he said. ``But their children are switching to English at a faster rate than has ever been seen in history.''

The study focused on Mexican-Americans but also covered Spanish speakers from a number of Latin American countries.

Furor around language has spurred much of the debate on immigration reform -- now stalled in Congress. Critics say large segments of the population speaking only Spanish prevents assimilation into American culture and ultimately costs taxpayers by forcing the government to print documents in two languages, provide bilingual education and pay for other services.

If anything, critics say the study only supports their conviction that all immigrants should learn English faster.

``To say it takes three generations for them to (let go) of the language is a serious indictment of Spanish-speaking immigration,'' said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that supports tighter border control.

``What this does is create a new subculture that future immigrants will assimilate into, instead of assimilating into pre-existing American culture. There's no question that huge numbers of Spanish-speakers, constantly refreshed by new immigrants, strengthens foreign-language media outlets and it creates a strong financial interest on the part of these stations to promote immigration.''

Ahead of massive pro-immigrant protests in the spring, Spanish-language radio disc jockeys played a new Spanish version of ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' Nuestro Himno. Critics called the Spanish-language song -- featuring top Latino artists -- an affront, but immigrant-rights groups held it up as a rallying cry.

The study found that among second-generation Latinos, those who have at least one immigrant parent but were born here -- about 35 percent of Mexican-Americans and 29 percent of Salvadoran-Americans and Guatemalan-Americans -- speak Spanish well.

But by the third generation, only 7 percent of Mexican-Americans with at least one foreign-born grandparent speak Spanish fluently. The study did not have third-generation figures for Latinos from other countries.

In Southern California -- home to America's largest Mexican, Salvadoran and Guatemalan communities -- Spanish-language media are mushrooming. There are as many newscasts broadcast in Spanish as in English -- evidence that English-only proponents say points to an erosion of the assimilation process.

But those who promote programming geared toward Spanish-speakers say second- and third-generation viewers have an appetite for English-language shows.

``We are finding that this generation of teenagers and young adults have an affinity for their culture but they don't have the tools to re-claim their language,'' said Flavio Morales, vice president of programming for Mun2, a Los Angeles bilingual youth network owned by Miami-based Telemundo Communications Group Inc.

Mun2 targets the children and grandchildren of Latino immigrants and says its own studies show that 67 percent of its audience wants to retain a link to their family country of origin and 58 percent think that means speaking Spanish.

``It's a new set of rules this generation is creating for themselves. They are as Mexicano or Cubano as anyone else. But I think you see some kids that don't retain the language like the previous generation,'' said Morales, the child of Mexican immigrants whose first language was Spanish.

The use of languages among Latinos in Southern California points not to a lack of assimilation but to a complex and dynamic cultural exchange, said Jose Luis Benavides, director of the Center for Ethnic and Alternative Media at California State University, Northridge.

``You can't equate English language with being American. You can be an American and speak Ojibwe (an American Indian language) or Navajo. Equating nationality with language is dangerous.''

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