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The English-Language Proficiency of Recent Immigrants in the U.S. During the Early 1900s

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony P. Mora

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Marie T. Mora

    (University of Texas - Pan American)

  • Alberto Davila

    (University of Texas - Pan American)

Abstract

Using U.S. decennial census data, we find that in 1920, immigrants (particularly those from Southern and Eastern Europe) were more likely to speak the English language within three years of migrating than their counterparts had been in either 1900 or 1910. Our results suggest that the foreign-born reacted to socioeconomic and political events by learning English before or shortly after migrating to the U.S. This study not only provides previously unknown information about immigrants’ English fluency in the early twentieth century, but it also offers empirical insight into the assimilation pressures that certain immigrant groups experienced at the time.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony P. Mora & Marie T. Mora & Alberto Davila, 2007. "The English-Language Proficiency of Recent Immigrants in the U.S. During the Early 1900s," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 33(1), pages 65-80, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:33:y:2007:i:1:p:65-80
    as

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    File URL: http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/Volume33/V33N1P65_80.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, December.
    2. Chiswick, Barry R & Miller, Paul W, 1995. "The Endogeneity between Language and Earnings: International Analyses," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 246-288, April.
    3. Cohn, Raymond L., 2000. "Nativism and the End of the Mass Migration of the 1840s and 1850s," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(2), pages 361-383, June.
    4. Henry Pratt Fairchild, 1917. "The Literacy Test and Its Making," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 31(3), pages 447-460.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christina Diaz & Jennifer Lee, 2023. "Segmented assimilation and mobility among men in the early 20th century," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(5), pages 107-152.

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