No language in human history has ever had the global standing English currently enjoys. What is in question is the future of Spanish in this country. Beneath the upbeat statistics, there are serious concerns about its long-term health. Yet that same pool is continually replenished by immigration. The fate of immigrant languages has been to flower, then fade.
Many experts believe it already is happening.
They say immigration merely prolongs the inevitable. Since large-scale Latin American immigration will not continue forever, they contend, Spanish in the United States will eventually decline. Only major changes in language attitudes and policies will prevent this. They point out that a script similar to that followed by previous immigrants is being played out as U.S.-born Hispanics, for whom English is almost always the language of choice, seldom pass on Spanish to their offspring. Though Villa is conducting research that suggests it may not be happening any more, Michael Newman, a professor at New York University, sees evidence daily that Spanish is being lost.