Puerto Rico: On the Horns of a Language Planning Dilemma

Abstract

This article considers a number of factors that have contributed to the long-standing conflict between Spanish and English in Puerto Rico. Among them are the historical imposition of English as part of a heavyhanded Americanization plan, the critical role of party politics in the consideration of linguistic and cultural questions, the socioeconomic schisms in Puerto Rican society and their linguistic and educational ramifications, and a host of pedagogical problems that stem from an overly centralized and politicized school system in economic crisis. The article then notes ways in which a language planning perspective could help defuse the conflict and arrive at functionally adequate policies in keeping with the Puerto Rican people's desire for self-determination. Finally, the article specifies concrete roles for English language professionals in the planning effort.L anguage and bilingualism have been objects of heated controversy in Puerto Rico ever since the U.S. occupied the island in 1898. Although Spanish is unquestionably the local vernacular and is fervently defended and maintained, English is a mandatory subject in schools and colleges and increasingly a requirement for work in commerce, technology, and the professions. Frequent and conflicting changes in official language policy over the years and the intertwining of the language question with the still-unresolved issue of legal status for the island have resulted in a partisan polemic that rages on at all levels of Puerto Rican society. To add fuel to the fire, some intellectuals assert that teaching English has produced "transculturation" and "linguistic impoverish-

English in Puerto Rico

“…Educators and linguists in Puerto Rico have recognized that the country needs a language policy that reflects its political, sociocultural, and sociolinguistic reality. Schweers and Velez (1993) described the process of implementing major decisions regarding these language issues, and Pousada (1996) discussed the concerns in achieving an acceptable and adequate language policy.…”

šawaš IlI?i-šawaš wawa -- 'Indian country--Indian language' : A Participant Observation Case Study of Language Planning by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon

“…There are several stages to language planning as illustrated in numbers 1-7 in Figure 2. In slight contrast to this model, Pousada (1996) however, Pousada's four stages provide a good guide for the following discussion of the elements of the language planning process.…”

RicanStruction Sites: Race, Space, and Place in the Education of DiaspoRican Youth

“…(p. 55) Hence, the United States government would continue to appoint North American men to direct the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction and use the Island's schools as their main battlefront in their campaign to exterminate Puerto Rican ways of knowing the world in addition to destroying the Spanish language. Consequently, the hiring and placement of North American teachers to teach English (Pousada, 1996;Resnick, 1993;Solís-Jordán, 1994) and inculcate the value system of the White, middle class became a popular practice in the Island's schools. Moreover, Puerto Rican teachers were also expected to teach English to their students and carry out other acts of cultural and linguistic hegemony.…”