Marital Patterns and Use of Mother Tongue at Home among Native Born Asian Americans

This article examines marital patterns and use of mother tongue at home among native-born Asian Americans using the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Public Use Microdata Sample There are variations in mother-tongue use across Asian ethnic groups, but variations among different types of marriage are even greater Those who marry within their ethnicity (In-married) have a greater likelihood of mother-tongue use at home than those who Intermarry Among the in-married, those having 1 5- and first-generation co-ethnic spouses are far more likely to use a mother tongue than those having native-born co-ethnic partners Results of logistic regression analyses indicate that marital patterns are the strongest predictor of mother-tongue use at home, and that ethnic variations in mother-tongue use are significantly reduced when marital patterns are taken into account