English language in Puerto Rico explained

pronounced as /notice/While Spanish is the first official language of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, English is the second official language. English is taught in all Puerto Rican schools and is the primary language for all of the U.S. federal agencies in Puerto Rico as one of the two official languages of the Commonwealth, the other one being Spanish, which has been the predominant and primary language for the majority of Puerto Ricans as 94.3% of the entire population speak Spanish as their native language, along with 5.5% speaking English as their first language, and the remaining 0.2% speaking other languages as their primary. English was not declared as an official language alongside Spanish until 1902. Its status as an official language however was briefly removed in 1991 after a law was made recognizing Spanish as the sole official language, and after the U.S. Congress had attempted to make English the primary language in order for Puerto Rico to join the union as the 51st state, but was brought back as the second official language in 1993 and has remained the co-official language of the commonwealth since then.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Spanish is the most spoken and written language,[6] and the vast majority of Puerto Ricans do not use English regularly other than some borrowed English words in their ordinary Spanish speech.[7] Various surveys have found that the majority of Puerto Ricans are not fluent in English.[8] [9] Out of those age five and older, 76.6% of Puerto Ricans did not speak English "very well," and 94.5% spoke a language other than English at home.[10]

History

Government

In 1902, as part of the Foraker Act, the Official Languages Act was instituted mandating that English and Spanish should be "used indiscriminately" in all official and public activities, with translation provided as necessary. Some interpret this as part of an Americanization process, others as a necessity for the functioning of the Executive Council in charge of Puerto Rico at the time, of which few or none of the mainland appointees spoke Spanish.[11] After the Spanish–American War, English was the sole language used by the military government of Puerto Rico, which consisted of officials appointed by the U.S. Government. On 21 February 1902 a law was passed to use both English and Spanish as co-official languages in the government.[12] When the new political status, the Commonwealth, came into effect in 1952, the Constitution stated nothing about the official language that would be used by the new government.

In 1991, the government of Puerto Rico, under the administration of PPD's Rafael Hernández Colón, made Spanish its sole official language through a law that was commonly called the "Spanish-only Law."[13] In recognition of the historical defense of the Spanish language and culture, the Spanish Monarchy awarded Puerto Rico the Principe de Asturias' Prize that same year.[14] However on 4 January 1993, the 12th Legislative Assembly, with the support of the newly elected PNP government of Pedro Rosselló González passed Senate Bill 1, establishing both Spanish and English as official languages of the government of Puerto Rico.[15]

The people

In 2009, the grassroots community cultural organization Unidos por Nuestro Idioma ("United for our language"), whose goal is "defending Spanish in Puerto Rico", expressed concern that the use of English terms on official road signs reading "Welcome to Guaynabo City", and on mass transit ("City Hall" and "Downtown") as well as police cruisers ("San Juan Police Department") were evidence of the English language replacing Spanish in official use. The group advocates the defense and use of Spanish in Puerto Rico. The group states it is not against the use of English, recognizing the importance of Puerto Ricans learning it, but states that it should not displace Spanish.[16]

Education

The same 21 February 1902 law that ordered the use of both English and Spanish as co-official languages in the government of Puerto Rico also made English the obligatory language of instruction in Puerto Rican high schools.[12] In 1946, Vito Marcantonio introduced legislation to restore Spanish as the language of instruction in Puerto Rican schools asking President Truman to sign the bill, "in the name of the children of Puerto Rico who are being tortured by the prevailing system…to fight cultural chauvinism and to correct past errors." President Truman signed the bill.[17] In 1948, schools were able to return to teaching in the Spanish language, but English was required in schools as a second language.[18] In 1948, as a result of a decree by the Education Commissioner Mario Villaronga Spanish again became the language of instruction at schools, for all but the English course. The decree was binding on public schools.[19]

Comparison with other Spanish-speaking territories

Puerto Rico had about a million residents at the time it was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898.[20] "Since 1898, the heads of the departments of education put forth "seven different language policies" for the teaching of English languages in Puerto Rico schools.[21] By way of contrast, the Spanish-speaking settlers in the vast territories obtained from Mexico after the Mexican–American War were promptly swamped by English-speaking American settlers, which is why the state governments that emerged in those territories all primarily use English today.

Present use

Government

The official languages[22] of the executive branch of government of Puerto Rico[23] are Spanish and English, with Spanish being the primary language. Spanish is, and has been, the only official language of the entire Commonwealth judiciary system, even despite a 1902 English-only language law.[24] All official business of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, however, is conducted in English.[25] [26]

Population at large

Spanish and English are the two official (i.e., governmental) languages in Puerto Rico. Spanish is the dominant language of business, education and daily life on the island, spoken by over 95% of the population.[27] That is, Spanish predominates as the national language. Regardless of the status of English as an official language or not, Spanish continues to be by far the most widely spoken and written language by the Puerto Rican people at large, and the vast majority of Puerto Ricans do not use English regularly other than some loaned English words during their ordinary Spanish-language speech.[7] Various surveys have found that the majority of Puerto Ricans are not fluent in English. Out of those age five and older, 76.6% of Puerto Rico did not speak English "very well", and 94.5% spoke a language other than English at home.

According to a study done before 2009 by the University of Puerto Rico, nine of every ten Puerto Ricans residing in Puerto Rico do not speak English at an advanced level.[28] More recently, according to the 2005–2009 Population and Housing Narrative Profile for Puerto Rico, among people at least five years old living in Puerto Rico in 2005–2009, 95 percent spoke a language other than English at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, more than 99 percent spoke Spanish and less than 0.5 percent spoke some other language; 85 percent reported that they did not speak English "very well."[29] The 2000 U.S. Census had reported that 71.9% of Puerto Rico residents spoke English less than "very well".[30]

Education and schooling

Public school instruction in Puerto Rico is conducted entirely in Spanish. In 2012, however, there were pilot programs in about a dozen of over 1,400 public schools aimed at conducting instruction in English only.[31] English is taught as a second language and is a compulsory subject from elementary levels to high school. In 2012, pro-U.S. statehood Governor Luis Fortuño proposed that all courses in Puerto Rico public schools be taught in English instead of Spanish as they currently are. The proposal met with stiff opposition from the Puerto Rico Teachers Association while others, including former Education Secretary Gloria Baquero, were pessimistic about the success of the governor's plan overall for reasons that ranged from historical to cultural to political.[32]

Linguistic influences

English on Spanish

Because of the island's current relationship with the U.S., English has a substantial presence and is seen in various media outlets including newspapers, magazines, cable TV, radio stations, and commercial signs.[33] As a result of this exposure, Puerto Ricans often mix elements of the English language into their own Spanish language, developing new linguistic forms. This kind of incorporation of English into Puerto Rican Spanish is called anglicism, and three prominent forms of anglicism present in Puerto Rico are total linguistic borrowing, semantic borrowing, and syntactical borrowing.[34]

Total linguistic borrowing occurs when an English word is used in Spanish with more or less the same pronunciation. A few examples in which the complete English word has been borrowed are: flash light, Girl Scout, and weekend. The standard Spanish words for these are linterna, exploradora, and fin de semana, respectively. Examples in which the English words or terms are used while pronounced according to the native rules are seen for the English word/term to park, where it is said and pronounced as parquear, instead of the South American/Caribbean-Spanish word for to park which is estacionar. Other examples of this are the English word pamphlet, said as panfleto instead of folleto, and the English word muffler, said as mofle instead of silenciador.[34]

In semantic borrowing, the meaning of a Spanish word is altered or changed because of its similarity to an English word. For example, the Spanish word romance refers to a poetic literary composition, however, it has been given the English meaning of the English word romance. The Spanish word for romance is actually idilio. Another example of this is the Spanish word bloques, which means "building blocks", but is given the English meaning of "street blocks". The actual South American/Caribbean-Spanish word that means "street blocks" is cuadras.[34]

In syntactical borrowing, Spanish words are used in an English sentence structure. For example, in Spanish, personal pronoun subjects are not included as frequently as in English: "I run" is often said as "yo corro" instead of as "corro". Another example: "He has cordially invited his friend" is often said as "Él ha cordialmente invitado a su amigo" instead of "Él ha invitado cordialmente a su amigo" or "Ha invitado cordialmente a su amigo." There is a phonological influence of American English on Puerto Rican Spanish, wherein syllable-final pronounced as //r// can be realized as pronounced as /link/, aside from pronounced as /[ɾ]/, pronounced as /[r]/, and [l]; "verso" (verse) becomes pronounced as /[ˈbeɹso]/, aside from pronounced as /[ˈbeɾso]/, pronounced as /[ˈberso]/, or pronounced as /[ˈbelso]/, "invierno" (winter) becomes pronounced as /[imˈbjeɹno]/, aside from pronounced as /[imˈbjeɾno]/, pronounced as /[imˈbjerno]/, or pronounced as /[imˈbjelno]/, and "parlamento" (parliament) becomes pronounced as /[paɹlaˈmento]/, aside from pronounced as /[paɾlaˈmento]/, pronounced as /[parlaˈmento]/, or [{{IPA|palaˈmento}}]. In word-final position, pronounced as //r// is usually:

Cultural issues

2012 Republican primary

In 2012, U.S. presidential candidate Rick Santorum caused a firestorm during the runup to the Puerto Rican Republican primary by stating that if Puerto Rico opted to become a state, it would have to make English its primary language. As the New York Times reported:[35]

Santorum opponent Mitt Romney's campaign issued a statement contrasting his position on the issue with Santorum's. "Puerto Rico currently recognizes both English and Spanish as the official languages of the commonwealth," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. "Gov. Romney believes that English is the language of opportunity and supports efforts to expand English proficiency in Puerto Rico and across America. However, he would not, as a prerequisite for statehood, require that the people of Puerto Rico cease using Spanish."[36]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: English in Puerto Rico . Puerto Rico Report . 7 December 2022.
  2. News: Puerto Rico makes Spanish official language . Washington Post . 7 December 2022.
  3. Book: Valle, Sandra Del . Language Rights and the Law in the United States: Finding Our Voices . 2003-01-01 . Multilingual Matters . 978-1-85359-658-2 . en.
  4. Book: Johannessen, B. Gloria Guzmán . Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: Politics, Policies, and Practices in a Globalized Society . 2019-01-14 . Springer . 978-3-030-05496-0 . en.
  5. News: P. Rico Senate declares Spanish over English as first official language . News Report . 4 September 2015 . Agencia EFE . 7 February 2016 . San Juan, Puerto Rico . 1 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101090937/https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/p-rico-senate-declares-spanish-over-english-as-first-official-language/50000263-2704154 . dead .
  6. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.178.5434&rep=rep1&type=pdf Juan Bobo: A Folkloric Information System.
  7. http://www.puertorico.com/translation/ Translation in Puerto Rico.
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20130308152045/http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/se-discrimina-al-usar-el-ingles-en-algunos-tribunales-de-puerto-rico-article-1.390622 "¿Se discrimina al usar el inglés en algunos tribunales de Puerto Rico?"
  9. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/NPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US72&-qr_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_NPPR01&-ds_name=&-redoLog=false 2005–2009 Population and Housing Narrative Profile for Puerto Rico.
  10. Web site: . 2019. Puerto Rico 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. 7 July 2021. US Census. Department of Commerce.
  11. Book: Morris, Nancy. Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity. registration. 29. 31 August 1995. Praeger. Internet Archive.
  12. Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, 12ma Asamblea Legislativa, 1era Sesión Ordinaria, Senado de Puerto Rico: Proyecto del Senado 1 (4 de enero de 1993)
  13. http://kalathos.metro.inter.edu/Num_4/ArticuloValorizacion.pdf ENGLISH LANGUAGE VALORIZATION IN PUERTO RICO: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE.
  14. Web site: Pueblo de Puerto Rico. Trayectoria - Fundación Príncipe de Asturias . 23 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120304080208/http://www.fpa.es/premios/1991/pueblo-de-puerto-rico/text/ . 4 March 2012 . dead .
  15. Book: Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity . registration . Nancy Morris . 1995 . Praeger/Greenwood . 62 . 0-275-95228-2.
  16. Web site: "Unidos en la defensa del idioma español" (United in defense of the Spanish language), 23 April 2009, Primera Hora, 23 April 2009 . 14 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120504054723/http://www.yayaro.com/vernaculo.html . 4 May 2012 . dead .
  17. Web site: Simon . John J. . Rebel in the House: The Life and Times of Vito Marcantonio . Monthly Review . 2006-03-01 . 2021-09-12.
  18. http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/08/07/puerto-rico-schools-embrace-bilingualism Puerto Rico Schools Embrace Bilingualism.
  19. http://home.coqui.net/sendero/informe.pdf "Informe Final sobre el Idioma en Puerto Rico" (Final report about language in Puerto Rico)
  20. Web site: Report on the census of Porto Rico 1899 (P. 40). 1900. December 27, 2019.
  21. Web site: Bianca P. . Napoleoni Gregory . Story Map Cascade . Library of Congress . 2021-08-19 . 23 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230223001303/https://www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=25353af40b924f5c85f6d2a2a21fd7a6 . bot: unknown .
  22. "Official Language", Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, Ed. Tom McArthur, Oxford University Press, 1998.
  23. Pueblo v. Tribunal Superior, 92 D.P.R. 596 (1965). Translation taken from the English text, 92 P.R.R. 580 (1965), pp. 588–589. See also LOPEZ-BARALT NEGRON, "Pueblo v. Tribunal Superior: Espanol: Idioma del proceso judicial", 36 Revista Juridica de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 396 (1967), and VIENTOS-GASTON, "Informe del Procurador General sobre el idioma", 36 Rev. Col. Ab. (P.R.) 843 (1975).
  24. http://muniz-arguelles.com/resources/The+status+of+languages+in+Puerto+Rico.pdf The Status of Languages in Puerto Rico.
  25. http://aliciapousada.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/0/2/10020146/publication_form_of_english_in_federal_courts_of_pr.pdf The mandatory use of English in the federal court of Puerto Rico.
  26. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/377/37720112.pdf "The mandatory use of English in the federal court of Puerto Rico."
  27. Web site: U.S. Census website. U. S. Census. Bureau. United States Census Bureau.
  28. News: Prensa Asociada . ',¿Se discrimina al usar el inglés en algunos tribunales de Puerto Rico?', New York Daily News. Feb 24, 2009. (In Spanish) . Daily News . 24 February 2009 . 14 August 2010 . New York.
  29. Web site: 2005–2009 Population and Housing Narrative Profile for Puerto Rico . 19 May 2011 . 2005–2009 . U.S. Census Narrative Profile . U.S. Census . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111008150642/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/NPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US72&-qr_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_NPPR01&-ds_name=&-redoLog=false . 8 October 2011 .
  30. figure for 2000 from "Table 2. Language Use and English-Speaking Ability for the Population 5 Years and Over for the United States, Regions, and States and for Puerto Rico: 1990 and 2000" in Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000 Census 2000 Brief, p.5, U.S. Census Bureau
  31. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/puerto-rico-governor-fortuno-bilingual_n_1501225.html Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño Proposes Plan For Island's Public Schools To Teach In English Instead Of Spanish.
  32. News: Danica . Coto . Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño Proposes Plan For Island's Public Schools To Teach in English Instead of Spanish . The Huffington Post. 8 May 2012 . 1 April 2013 .
  33. Web site: Pousada . Alicia . Being bilingual in Puerto Rico (2011) . www.AliciaPousada.com.
  34. Web site: Archived copy . 2 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130918015924/http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/tech_journals/Anglicisms_in_Puerto%20Rico.pdf . 18 September 2013 . dead .
  35. Web site: Santorum Addresses Firestorm Over Puerto Rico Remarks. Katharine Q.. Seelye. Ashley. Parker. 15 March 2012. NYTimes.com.
  36. Web site: Romney, Santorum continue sparring over English in Puerto Rico. . 23 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120330171000/http://articles.cnn.com/2012-03-16/politics/politics_campaign-wrap_1_official-language-statehood-national-language?_s=PM:POLITICS . 30 March 2012 . dead .