In 1970, the U.S. Census added a “country of origin” question to its demographics section, which asks respondents if they are “of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.” But a new Pew Hispanic Center report indicates that, while these might be the official terms for those from Spanish-speaking countries and/or Latin America, they aren’t the preferred or most popular labels among those they’re supposed to identify. Only about 1 in 4 use the terms Hispanic or Latino most frequently to describe themselves:
Not surprisingly, identification with different labels differs among recent immigrants and those born in the U.S. Among the first generation, country of origin is the overwhelming preference, but by the third generation, just over 1 in 4 choose that as their most common self-identifier:
Most respondents had no preference between the terms Hispanic or Latino, but for those who did, Hispanic was more popular:
White was the most commonly-chosen racial identification:
Most respondents also said that while they think it’s important that Hispanics be able to speak Spanish in the U.S., that learning English is very important for success. By the second generation, almost all rate themselves as knowing English “pretty” or “very” well:
Conversely, among third-generation Hispanics, under half say they speak or read Spanish equally well:
Check out the full report for tons of additional information on identification, language use, etc.
Comments 9
hopeless shade — April 10, 2012
Things I gained from my father:
melanin
something to call myself other than "white"
Things I didn't gain from my father:
Spanish
any actual South American heritage whatsoever
I've recently come to terms with the fact that maybe I am so urgent to call myself "Hispanic" because I look white enough that there's no loss of privilege inherent in calling myself something other than white...
Dianna Fielding — April 10, 2012
I think it's interesting that all these graphs are in skin tones.
Anonymous — April 10, 2012
I used to have to ask census data while working in healthcare, and one of the questions was, "Are you Hispanic or Latino?" Not even the people who clearly had Hispanic/Latino accents said yes. And "No, I'm an American" was a very common response not only among the people I encountered, but for my co-workers as well. Maybe it is from fear of the fad of hating immigrants? Because obviously, being Hispanic or Latino does not prevent you from being American.
rainbowcolors — April 10, 2012
definitions of what Hispanic and Latino are supposed to be would be helpful. Are Brazilians part of either group, since they don't speak Spanish? Why is Hispanic/Latino, which is a category defined by the language spoken, next to White and Black, which are colors of skin? So what about the huge numbers of Hispanic/Latinos who are also black, or
who are very much white? Which category would they fit in?
Lapepina — April 11, 2012
This survey is badly done. They use American as a synonym for US-Americans. If you are originally from México you are anyway American (born in the central part of America).