Dallas

DFW Among Major Cities Where Fewer Latinos are Speaking Spanish at Home

Latinos are apparently speaking less Spanish at home, according to a new study.

An analysis by the Pew Research Center found that the share of Latinos who speak the language has declined over the past decade or so in the top 25 metros with the largest Hispanic populations.

In 2015, 73 percent of Latinos spoke Spanish at home, down from 78 percent in 2006, according to Census Bureau data.

Dallas-Fort Worth is among the metro areas that experienced a drop-off.

An estimated 260,000 fewer Latinos in DFW said they use Spanish in 2015 than in the previous decade.

On this Dia de Los Muertos — "Day of the Dead" in English — Miriam Miller took in the Mexican tradition with her son at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas.

Miller accompanied Cesar Rojas and his classmates as they toured exhibits honoring the belief that souls of all deceased children and adults reunite with their families between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2.

"My grandpa just died two months ago," said a teary-eyed Miller.

A grandfather she remembers would always emphasize the importance of their native language.

"I mean, it was the number one thing," she said. "And anything you would say wrong, he would correct us, correct us, correct us."

Between 2006 and 2015, DFW Latinos reported a decline of four percent in Spanish being spoken at home, according to the analysis.

At Maroches Bakery in Oak Cliff, Manuel Tellez runs his business while trying to reign in his three-year-old daughter in Spanish and English.

"Chaparra, what are you doing?" he calls out to the girl playing on the floor.

"She needs to learn both languages since we are here," he said.

Tellez says he know what may be behind the drop-off in Latinos not speaking Spanish at home.

"The, 'Speak English or get out' — that slogan," he said. "People are hiding their heritage. They don't want to be criticized. They don't want to be pointed at and, 'Oh, you're from Ecuador, Mexico, South America.'"

Miller said she will keep insisting that her children improve their Spanish.

"I'm going to push it as hard as I can on them," she said.

San Antonio is among the metro areas with the largest decline of Spanish spoken at home, with a nine-percent drop.

Still, more than 37 million Latinos in the U.S. speak Spanish at home, according to the analysis.

That makes Spanish the country's most common non-English language.

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