From NPR:
University of California, Irvine professor Rubén Rumbaut succinctly summarized the arc of language loss across generations of immigrants in a 2011 interview with Morning Edition host Renee Montagne: "The first adult generation of immigrants ended up speaking survival-level English with an accent. You know, maybe think of Desi Arnaz in 'I Love Lucy.' The second generation, they remain bilingual, albeit their proficiency faded over time. And finally, the third generation, grandchildren, grew up speaking English only, perhaps with a few quaint vestiges — muchas gracias. "You know, and the overarching story remains essentially that which we have seen throughout American history; a three generational story of language death, which unfortunately is what has given the United States a reputation as a language graveyard."

For the full story, please visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/04/29/179816884/as-americas-lat...