Language and identity have an undeniable link, but what happens when a second language is imposed on a populace? Can a link be broken or transformed? Are the attitudes towards the imposed language influential? Can these attitudes change over time? The mixed-methods results provided by this book are ground-breaking because they document how historical and traditional attitudes are changing towards both American English (AE) and Puerto Rican Spanish (PRS) on an island where the population has been subjected to both Spanish and US colonization. There are presently almost four million people living in Puerto Rico, while the Puerto Rican diaspora has surpassed it with more than this living in the United States alone. Because of this, many members of the diaspora no longer speak PRS, yet consider themselves to be Puerto Rican. Traditional stances against people who do not live on the island or speak the predominant language (PRS) yet wish to identify themselves as Puerto Rican have historically led to prejudice and strained relationships between people of Puerto Rican ancestry. The sample study provided here shows that there is not only a change in attitude towards the traditional link between PRS and Puerto Rican identity (leading to the inclusion of diasporic Puerto Ricans), but also a wider acceptance of the English language itself on this Caribbean island.

This thesis explores the relationship between language, personal identity, and culture among members of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Puerto Rico represents a unique situation socially and politically because of its colonial relationship with the United States. This relationship has facilitated a continuous circular migration to and from the mainland U.S. over the last century. As of 2012, the diasporic community now represents a greater population than those who remain on the island. While nationalistic debates in Puerto Rico have traditionally excluded this group (collectively dubbed “neoricans” or “nuyoricans”), their recent contributions to literature and Puerto Rican cultural theory, as well as their sheer numbers have led many to reconsider traditional views about Puerto Rican identity. I first examine recent theories about definitions and constructions of identity and culture. This analysis specifically focuses on the role that language plays, both integrally and functionally, in identity constructs among bilingual communities and racial minorities. Next, I briefly discuss the historical context of Puerto Rican migration and debates about national identity. These debates have traditionally included language as a central factor, which becomes problematic when multiple generations of “nuyoricans” with varying Spanish language abilities are taken into consideration. Finally, I present an analysis of interviews with second generation “nuyoricans” who returned to the island in late adolescence or adulthood to live and work. In this analysis, I look at their perceptions of identity and culture and attempt to draw connections between their personal experiences and the perspectives presented in the literature.

Urciuolis award-winning book explores how language and the social construction of race, class, and ethnicity shape the lives of working-class Puerto Ricans living in New York City. Her reflexive ethnographic study is a combination of two absorbing features: her analyses of language and power relations based on key principles in semiotic and linguistic anthropology, paired with the authentic voices of individuals who share their lived experiences of speaking Spanish and English. The subjects conversations, interview responses, and anecdotes are saturated with ideas about what correct English means to them. Through these extended transcripts readers gain insight about languages role in cultural dynamics that tangle minority populations in challenges, such as limiting where individuals and families live and work. Urciuolis provocative research and fieldwork give readers a rich understanding of language as the domain in which racial, ethnic, and class hierarchies are experienced.

This book focuses on the role of education in the formation of Puerto Rican identity vis a vis U.S.-imposed ideology about history, culture, language, and identity, and the school system. Puerto Ricans resisted being assimilated into the language and ideologies. The book analyzes this process by looking at policies, curriculum, and interviews.

Divided Borders: Essays on Puerto Rican Identity is a collection of essays on history, literature and culture by the celebrated commentator on Puerto Rican and Caribbean culture in the United States, Juan Flores. He is the recipient of the prestigious Casa de las Americas award for his monograph on Puerto Rican identity. Included are: ñPuerto Rican Literature in the United States: Stages and Perspectives,î ñThe Insular Vision: Pedreira and the Puerto Rican Misere,î ñNational Culture and Migration: Perspectives of the Puerto Rican Working Class,î ñLiving Borders / Buscando America: Languages of Latino Self Formationî and many others.

In 1991, the Puerto Rican government abolished bilingualism, claiming that 'Spanish only' was necessary to protect the culture from North American influences. A few years later bilingualism was restored and English was promoted in public schools. This revised edition is updated with an emphasis on the dual arenas where the language controversy played out - Puerto Rico and the United States Congress - and includes new data on the connections between language and conflicting notions of American identity.