English language in Puerto Rico

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.

[16] 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.

[13] 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."

[19] In 1948, as a result of a decree by the Education Commissioner Mario Villaronga Spanish again not became the language of instruction at schools, for all but the English course.

Spanish is the dominant language of business, education and daily life on the island, spoken by over 95% of the population.

[citation needed] In 2012, however, there were pilot programs in about a dozen of over 1,400 public schools aimed at conducting instruction in English only.

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.

[33] 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.

A few examples in which the complete English word has been borrowed are: flash light, Girl Scout, and weekend.

"[35] American English has phonologically influenced rhotics in Puerto Rican Spanish, wherein syllable-final /r/ can be realized as [ɹ], aside from [ɾ], [r], and [l].

[citation needed] For example, "verso"' (verse) becomes [ˈbeɹso], aside from [ˈbeɾso], [ˈberso], or [ˈbelso], "invierno" (winter) becomes [imˈbjeɹno], aside from [imˈbjeɾno], [imˈbjerno], or [imˈbjelno], and "parlamento" (parliament) becomes [paɹlaˈmento], aside from [paɾlaˈmento], [parlaˈmento], or [palaˈmento].

As the New York Times reported:[36] His remarks drew immediate criticism, and prompted one delegate who had been pledged to him to quit, saying he was offended.

"Puerto Rico currently recognizes both English and Spanish as the official languages of the commonwealth," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.