Four in five Hispanic Republicans believe it is important for future generations of Hispanics in the United States to speak Spanish, according to a new study.
A Pew Research Center report published Wednesday concluded that 80% of Republican and Republican-leaning Hispanics said it was important or at least somewhat important for Hispanic Americans to keep a part of their culture and heritage by learning their native language and continuing to speak in it.
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Democratic and Democratic-leaning Latinos agreed by a similar, slightly higher margin, 88%, that keeping Spanish alive in the United States is important.
Hispanics make up the largest percentage of immigrants arriving in the U.S. by way of the southern border, with most coming from Central America and Venezuela.
The U.S. has increasingly become more friendly to Spanish-speakers with options for English and Spanish available at most public and private institutions. Conservatives have historically valued the assimilation of immigrants into American culture and the English language. However, the study indicated that conservative-leaning Hispanics supported speaking Spanish and that future generations should continue to be taught it.
Not all Latinos in the U.S. can speak Spanish. One in four said they cannot carry or can barely carry a conversation in Spanish, Pew found.
Latinos were far more likely to speak Spanish if first- or second-generation immigrants compared to two-in-three people from third-generation or higher who could not carry a conversation well. Roughly half of Hispanics who admitted that they cannot speak Spanish well said they have been shamed by other Hispanics for not being fluent.
For the first time in Texas history, the Hispanic and Latino populations have surpassed the number of white residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data published in June. White residents no longer make up the largest demographic of the southern border state's nearly 30 million residents.
Bureau officials believed Hispanics overtook the No. 1 spot in July 2022, shifting to 40.2% of the population. Non-Hispanic white residents fell short at 39.8%.
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The U.S. Census Bureau defines Hispanic and Latino "as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."
The Pew survey was conducted from Aug. 1-14, 2022, of which 1,622 respondents identified as Hispanic.