Santorum tells Puerto Ricans to speak English if they want to be a state.

[BM]

The good thing about Santorum staying in this long is he's gotten a chance to confirm all the unfair "myths" and "exaggerations" made about him over the years.

Yeah. Looks like people had him pegged perfectly after all.

[Colbert]

the reaction of santorum is normal. One state must have 1 language.


If not, imagine you go to a county, for an adminisrative stuff, and the officer speak to you in bulgarian. Little problem, no ?


Porto Rico don't have  to speak english, so porto rico have to be independant, as philippines were


two of more languages in a state is the assurance to have separatist parties on the political scene.

[J. J.]

the reaction of santorum is normal. One state must have 1 language.


If not, imagine you go to a county, for an adminisrative stuff, and the officer speak to you in bulgarian. Little problem, no ?


Porto Rico don't have  to speak english, so porto rico have to be independant, as philippines were


two of more languages in a state is the assurance to have separatist parties on the political scene.

Yet we have several states where languages coexist.

[Colbert]

the reaction of santorum is normal. One state must have 1 language.


If not, imagine you go to a county, for an adminisrative stuff, and the officer speak to you in bulgarian. Little problem, no ?


Porto Rico don't have  to speak english, so porto rico have to be independant, as philippines were


two of more languages in a state is the assurance to have separatist parties on the political scene.

Yet we have several states where languages coexist.

and the risk of a possible mexican irredentism (or something like that)

[5280]

Preferably, the best decision is to cut ties from PR and give them independence.

[useful idiot]

I don't understand why this is a big deal, aside from the fact that it was foolish of him to say it if he wanted to win this primary (which he wasn't going to anyway). The idea that a group of people should integrate if they want to become full members of a given country is hardly radical, I'm sorry. It's not as if Puerto Rico is bilingual, that would be a different story. It isn't. It's largely uni-lingual, and that language isn't the one spoken by the vast majority of Americans.

I support PR statehood wholeheartedy, I think it would be beneficial for both the mainland and the island, culturally and economically. However, the idea that they should become a state without a major push towards bilingualism on the part of the citizenry there is just silly. I have yet to meet a non-elderly immigrant, illegal or legal, who hasn't made the effort to learn English. It's bizarre to think that Puerto Ricans wouldn't want to learn English if it better helped them integrate. The problem is at the moment the English programs in their schools are similar to the Spanish programs in American schools; woefully inadequate and with hardly anyone coming out fluent.

BTW, to those who think English is widespread in PR, I suggest you visit sometime. I spent a summer there a few years ago (I have an uncle that lives there), and I can assure you it isn't.

[Fritz]

PR has a referendum on statehood scheduled for this year.  Because of the language issue, I think its likely that statehood will fail.

[J. J.]

Preferably, the best decision is to cut ties from PR and give them independence.

Hey, if they favor it, I favor it.  Same with statehood.

[Wisconsin+17]

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My anecdotal evidence suggests precisely the opposite. Are you gaging it by what they choose to do among themselves, or what they use when working with an English speaker?

[Wisconsin+17]

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50x as many Puerto Ricans support statehood over independence.

[useful idiot]

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My anecdotal evidence suggests precisely the opposite. Are you gaging it by what they choose to do among themselves, or what they use when working with an English speaker?

Most of them who speak any English speak very rudimentary English. Yes there are people there who are fluent in English, but they're a minority. The ones who are, or are near-fluent, are almost always people who have lived on the mainland or work in the service industry.

Santorum comments:

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If he was wrong why aren't there people jumping up and down saying "Hey almost everyone here speaks English!"?

[Wisconsin+17]

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I think what we are doing is arguing ends against the middle. I disagree with the perception that only spanish is spoken in Puerto Rico and that Puerto Ricans as a majority do not substantially speak English to some degree.

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Because of Spanish language preference? I see Santorum's point here about English vs Spanish preference. Assimilation is going to have to involve English preference, and I really don't see a way around that in America. They don't want independence, and a significant percentage want statehood.

Statehood's always involved English preference - even if there are substantial accommodations for other languages. This is not just an issue for Puerto Rico, but elsewhere as well. There's nothing wrong with people choosing to use Spanish, but they should be proficient in English and be able to use it well.

It's been no different for any group - everyone has to learn to use English well - not just the folks in Puerto Rico. Since far more of them want to be part of the US than to leave, I think there has to be a concerted effort to improve English usage there.

[ajb]

I'd support Puerto Rican's right to choose either independence or statehood, if they want either, and also their right to remain in the staus quo, if that's what they'd prefer. If Puerto Rico does pursue either independence or statehood, then of course there would have to be negotiations with Washington over the details. Official language policy would clearly be one of the issues up for discussion. PR could clearly ask to keep Spanish as a co-official language. Past experience does show that Washington has occasionally (not always) made demands about language usage in incoming states, and would presumably have the right to make such demands with Puerto Rico. There's no constitutional or legal obligation to insist on English only, though, since the English language has no official status at the federal level in the United States, so Washington would also have the right to let PR keep using Spanish -- obviously, lots of nations have more than one official language, and do just fine with it (not to mention that refusing to allow the use of Spanish in PR would obviously drive up separatist sentiment pretty rapidly).
If the US and PR disagreed on language policy, that might be an issue that prevented statehood from actually happening, even if the people of PR wanted it. And that would be fine, too -- obviously, the US doesn't have to accept PR as a state if it feels the conditions aren't right.