English in Puerto Rico

English, along with Spanish, is an official language of the Government of Puerto Rico. Spanish has been an official language in Puerto Rico since it was colonized in the 15th century. English, on the other hand, was first introduced as an official language when the United States occupied the island during the Spanish–American War. Since then, the Puerto Rican government has declared English an official language on several occasions while removing it from that status on as many occasions. English remains an official language in the Commonwealth.

Regardless of the status of English as an official language, Spanish continues to be by far the most widely spoken and written language by the Puerto Rican people at large, and the vast majority of Puerto Ricans do not use English regularly other than some loaned English words during their ordinary Spanish-language speech. Various surveys have found that the majority of Puerto Ricans are not fully fluent in English. The 2000 US Census found that 71.9% of people in Puerto Rico spoke English less than "very well." It also found that 85.6% spoke a language other than English at home (mostly Spanish).

The history and use of the English language in Puerto Rico has taken place primarily on at least three fronts: government, the populace, and education.

The U.S. seized the island from Spain in 1898, and in 1902 as part of the Foraker Act, the Official Languages Act was instituted mandating that English and Spanish should be "used indiscriminately" in all official and public activities, with translation provided as necessary. 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.

After the Spanish–American War, English was the sole language used by the military government of Puerto Rico, which consisted of officials appointed by the US Government. On 21 February 1902 a law was passed to use both English and Spanish as co-official languages in the government. When the new political status, the Commonwealth, came into effect in 1952, the Constitution stated nothing about the official language that would be used by the new government.

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