“Pleasantly surprised to see your site is in English,” wrote a reader. ” My professional experiences with PR, FEMA, DofS, and medical credentialling have always been hampered by the fact that your government (and people) refuse to speak English and would submit official documents to HQ agencies in DC in Spanish. The USA has always been an English speaking nation (with individuals speaking hundreds of languages at home and with friends as well as in their stores). President Trump has finally made English our official language. What is your plan to make English your official and popular language?”
We appreciate the question. The first thing to note is that English and Spanish are both official languages in Puerto Rico. The most popular language is Spanish, but many Puerto Ricans are bilingual in Spanish and English. Is English popular, and how could it be made more popular?
Is English popular in Puerto Rico?
About 20% of people living in Puerto Rico are fully bilingual in English and Spanish. At least half of residents have basic conversational proficiency in English. It can be hard for people in the states to get a grasp of this. For perspective, about 20% of people in the states speak a language other than English at home. Nearly 9% don’t speak English well. But nowhere near half the population in the states can speak more than one language. This means that the average person from Puerto Rico has greater comfort speaking English than stateside Americans might expect, since the great majority of people living in the states are monolingual.
Official documents are something else again. Typically, people have documents in one language or another, and when required to submit an official document they will send the original and may not think to send a translation. Also, people who are comfortable conversing in English may still not be able to produce an official document in English. Some native speakers of English could not do that.
And saying that people “refuse” to speak English suggests that they can but aren’t willing to. That might not be an accurate understanding of what’s going on.
Feelings about Spanish
In addition, people in Puerto Rico feel that speaking Spanish is part of their identity, something to cherish, and something that they could lose if they don’t defend it. English is the most widely-spoken language in the world, so people who speak only English may find this hard to understand. There are more people who speak English as a second language than there are native speakers. English is the language of business and of the internet. It is currently the world’s dominant language. Some English speakers still seem to feel threatened by other languages, so perhaps they will be able to imagine the fear of losing Spanish which sometimes is discussed by anti-statehood factions.
If it is true that people refused to use English, these feelings may have been part of the equation.
Making English more popular in Puerto Rico — without losing Spanish
English is not the language of instruction in schools in Puerto Rico, but it is a subject taught throughout kids’ school careers. Schools could be a good place to focus on in order to increase comfort with English.
Bilingualism is more common in cities than in rural areas. Initiatives bringing English to the countryside could make a difference in the overall percentage of English speakers in Puerto Rico.
Younger people in Puerto Rico are more likely to speak English well. In time, comfort with English will probably increase just for this reason.
Finally, statehood will not force Puerto Ricans to speak English, even if English as a national language became law, but it could make English more popular. Let your legislators know that you want to welcome Puerto Rico as the 51st state.
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