---
title: "Second-generation Latinos Fluent in English"
description: "Nearly nine-in-ten second generation Latinos in the U.S. say they can carry on a conversation in English very well compared with only 23% of first-generation adult Latinos."
date: "2007-12-28"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2007/12/28/second-generation-latinos-fluent-in-english/"
categories:
  - "Comparison of Generations"
---

# Second-generation Latinos Fluent in English

Of adult first-generation Latinos, just 23% say they can carry on a conversation in English very well; that share rises sharply, to 88%, among the second generation of adults, and to 94% among the third and higher generations. As English usage gains over generations, Spanish use dwindles but does not disappear. Among foreign-born Hispanics, 95% say they speak Spanish very well. Slightly more than half of the second generation (56%) say they speak Spanish very well, as do 29% of the later generations. But Spanish retains a foothold in the third generation and beyond, with 52% reporting they speak it at least pretty well. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/644/english-language-usage-hispanics)