A new survey showed that there is no link between being Hispanic and being able to speak Spanish. However, many people still consider the ability to speak the language as a necessary component of Latino identity and culture.

The Relationship Between Speaking Spanish and Being Hispanic

Pew Research Center recently presented a survey, which revealed whether Hispanics consider it important to speak Spanish to belong to the community. Overall, 71 percent of respondents stated that it is not necessary to speak Spanish to be considered Latino or Hispanic while 28 percent believe that it is vital. Meanwhile, 58 percent of foreign-born respondents do not believe that Spanish-speaking skills are necessary to be deemed Latino while 41 percent believe otherwise.

Among the U.S.-born respondents, 87 percent think that it is not necessary while 11 percent think the opposite. Among registered voters, 81 percent stated that there is no connection between speaking Spanish and being Hispanic while 19 percent believe otherwise.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 21 to Nov. 30, 2015 using data from the 2015 National Survey of Latinos by Pew Research Center. The study involved 1,500 Latino adults and was done via cellular and landline telephones. The margin of sampling error for the entire sample is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points at the confidence level of 95 percent.

The Need to Keep Speaking Spanish

The study cited that 95 percent of Latinos actually believe that it is necessary for future generations to speak Spanish, making the language a vital part of their culture and identity. The language itself is what unites the community and about statistics say about three-fourths of Latinos still use it at home -- regardless where they are located.

In fact, how Hispanics use the language is different, mostly because they are bilingual. There are households that use only Spanish and those that only use English. With the increase of the Latino population based in the United States, the number of Latinos speaking the native language at home has also decreased. Conversely, and as expected, the number of those speaking English at home is rising. There are currently 27 percent of Hispanics aged 5 years and older living in a home that converses only in English. This is up from 22 percent in 2006. .

The results of the study may encourage Latino households to continue educating their children about Spanish culture and language.