Caught in language gap

The family has a unique communication dynamic at home. Years ago, the Gutierrez family only spoke Spanish at home. As the girls grew, they began to speak more English until they became more fluent in English than Spanish. Their mother began to learn English but is still not fluent, currently speaking a dialect of Spanglish. Their father continues to speak only Spanish.

"The language affects us a lot," said Martha Gutierrez. "If my daughters are watching a film in English, my husband will leave. If he is watching in Spanish, they will leave. We are hardly ever together in the living room. No es sad?"

The Gutierrez family serves as a case study for the language gap that can take place between Hispanic Americans in one generation.

Some, however, believe this gap does not derive from the language but from other issues in the home.

"People tend to blame things on the language when other things are causing the problem," said Marianna Di Paolo, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Utah. "If (parents) make an effort to communicate with their children, and pass on their values, that's what's really important, in Spanish or English."

Motives for learning English are not limited to communicating with children. For some, the drive to learn English comes from the desire to protect their children from embarrassment.

"Some children don't like to go to (school) meetings with their parents," said Alfredo Ibarra, who recently finished his English courses at the University of Utah. "It is embarrassing for them to have to translate for their parents."

On the other end of the spectrum, many American parents want their children to learn Spanish. Sabrina Green runs a Spanish immersion school in Sugar House, where most of her students are Caucasian.

"Most of the parents are doctors, lawyers and employers, where they have patients, clients or customers that speak Spanish," said Green. "They (the parents) either do and see the benefit, or wish they did."

Gutierrez believes immigrant children should speak both.

"The thing we need to do as parents is have them speak one language or the other so they can speak them both perfectly," Gutierrez said.

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E-mail: amarshall@desnews.com