The status of a language is very often described and measured by different factors, including the length of time it has been in use in a particular territory, the official recognition it has been given by governmental units, and the number and proportion of speakers. Spanish has a unique history and, so some argue status, in the contemporary…

During the Spanish regimen, Puerto Rican education was limited and restricted to Spanish language as the medium of instruction. It was not until the U.S. colonization of the island that public education was introduced. As a result, English replaced Spanish as medium of instruction in the new educational system. Immediately after, Puerto Rican…

This paper describes the language policies at 38 institutions of higher education on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. As a commonwealth of the US, Spanish and English hold co-official status on Puerto Rico despite the fact that majority of islanders use Spanish as their first language. Given the colonial status of the island, English has held…

This compilation, which is divided into three parts, brings together essays and documents representing a wide variety of views of the language question, especially as that issue relates to prospects for statehood and independence. Part 1 provides a general overview of the school language issue and evaluates the role that North American leaders…

The study was conceived as a critique of the bilingual education curricula generated by the Bilingual Education Act, with specific reference to the Puerto Rican collectivity in the United States. Six criteria were developed, drawing from the integration of theories of social action and language usage. The criteria were then applied to specific…