[LS]

The evidence does not bear this out. I have seen pretty convincing documentation on the fact that usually not until the THIRD generation did Germans, Poles, and others (especially when they came over prior to 1900) learn English. There were entire TOWNS in the mid-west that did not speak English at the turn of the century.

The available evidence we have---and not anecdotal---suggests that Hispanics learn the language by the 2nd generation.

[ought-six]

Again, I disagree with you. My ancestors came from Germany in 1841. And certainly by 1861 they spoke (and read, and wrote) English, because my great-great grandfather (from Germany) fought in the Civil War, and his letters, etc. (those very few that survived) were all in English. I grew up in California. There were Mexican families there that NEVER learned English, and I'm talking about generations of families. I worked with a Mexican kid when I was in high school, and his parents did not speak English, nor did his grandparents (they all lived in the same house). And they had been in California (at least the grandparents)since the 1920s at least. Their kids never learned English, but their grandkids did. Go figure.