In the U.S., speaking more
than one language fluently is not very common – except in Los Angeles,
California. The city has one of the largest populations in the U.S. of young
people between the ages of 18 and 34.
fluently: con
fluidez; the largest: las más extensas;
This generation is often called millennials. More than
half of millennials in Los Angeles are bilingual, which means they speak more
than one language.
millennials:
personas nacidas al fin del milenio; which means: lo cual significa (que);
Maria Elena Burgos is
cooking a Mexican breakfast. She says making Mexican food is just one of the
many traditions in her home. Another is speaking Spanish to her children.
making Mexica food:
preparar comida mexicana; just one: sólo una
“We want them to be
bilingual. We want to keep the Spanish somewhere in their learning too, not only
at home”.
we want them to
be: queremos que sean; somewhere in their learning: en alguna parte
de su aprendizaje;
When Ms. Burgos first came
to the United States from Mexico, she learned English. She knew her children
would learn English quickly. So she wanted them to speak Spanish at home and
study the language at school.
first came:
llegó por primera vez; learned: aprendió; knew: sabía (que);
would learn: aprenderían; quickly: velozmente; she wanted them to
speak: ella quería que hablaran;
She says being bilingual will give them more opportunities in the future.
Knowing Spanish also means the children can talk with their relatives in Mexico
and El Salvador.
she says being bilingual: ella dice que ser bilingües; will give them:
les dará; knowing Spanish: saber español; also means: también
significa (que); relatives: parientes;
“When we had our
children, one of the decisions we as parents decided was to name them with a
name that was easily pronounced in English and Spanish”.
when we had:
cuando tuvimos; we as parents: nosotros como padres; was to name them:
fue darles nombres; easily pronounced: fáciles de pronunciar;
Her children include
daughters Elizabeth and Monica. They like speaking both English and Spanish.
Elizabeth wants to know her family’s culture:
include daughters:
incluyen a las hijas; both English and Spanish: tanto inglés como español;
her family's culture: la cultura de su familia;
"The culture -- to go
back to our roots because that’s part of who we are”.
to go back to
our roots: para remontarnos a nuestras raíces;
Monica wants to pass on
the culture to her children:
wants to pass on:
quiere transmitir;
“It’s nice to know our
culture and then to be able to pass it onto our children and grandchildren and
everyone to let them know where we come from”.
and then to be
able to pass it onto: y luego poder transmitirla a; grandchildren:
nietos/as; to let them know: para que conozcan; where we come from:
de donde venimos;
The number of bilingual
speakers has gone up since the 1990s. At the same time, the number of foreign-born
millennials has gone down. In other words, more people in the U.S. are learning
a second language at home or in school.
number of bilingual
speakers: hablantes bilingües; has gone up: ha aumentado; since
the 1990s: desde los años 90; foreign-born: nacidos en el extranjero;
has gone down: ha disminuido; in other words: es decir;
Many immigrant parents are passing their native languages to their American-born
children, says University of California Los Angeles professor Raul Hinojosa.
inmmigrant parents:
padres inmigrantes; their native languages: sus idiomas nativos;
American-born children: hijos nacidos en los Estados Unidos;
Mr. Hinojosa says
that in the past, the children and grandchildren of immigrants did not
continue to speak the parents’ native language. But now the opposite is true. In
the last ten years, more immigrant parents say they want their children to keep
speaking their native language.
did not continue to speak: no continuaban hablando; the opposite is true:
lo cierto es al revés; to keep speaking: que sigan hablando;
Raul Hinojosa says the
decision to keep a native language is clear in Los Angeles now. And, as the
number of minorities in the U.S. continues to grow, he
thinks bilingualism will spread to the rest of the
country.
is clear: es
obvio, evidente; minorities: minorías; continues to grow: continue
creciendo; will spread to the rest of the country: se extenderá al resto
del país.
I’m Jill Robbins.