"¿Te gusta el inglés?" / Do you like English?

   Last week, my university held a conference titled The lexicon in varieties of English around the world: PR, USA, Malta. The event, hosted by Dr. Manfred Krug, exposed the findings from an investigation whose purpose was to determine the similarities and differences between the English spoken in Puerto Rico, and the English spoken in the island of Malta. Additionally, the presentation included information contrasting the English used in the United States with the English from the UK. 

   While the lecture's focus was simply to expose its findings, and not so much to analyze the contents, it's important for us to look back on the history of these four countries. We can't discuss the English language without establishing the historical context. What today we call the United States of America began as a few colonies made up of immigrants from all over Europe, but especially the United Kingdom. Eventually, in 1898, it was the US that took over Puerto Rico, who was previously colonized by Spain. Similarly, Malta was originally controlled by the French until the UK took power for about 150 years. 

   I do not know about the culture in Malta, but in Puerto Rico there's a small sector of our population that is extremely hostile to the English language, as a direct result of our relationship with the US. Some people don't see it as an advantage, and don't take into account that it's the language spoken in many of our "sister islands" (such as Jamaica). It is seen as something purely political, a constant reminder of the US involvement and domination in Puerto Rico. 

   Despite these hostile feelings, Puerto Rico still recognizes English as one of the island's official languages. It would be interesting to investigate and learn more about Malta's history with imperialism and the general social attitude towards English.

   Speaking now on a personal level, as a Puerto Rican, I think perhaps we are being too hard on ourselves. We assume the worst of our country: we feel like we're leaving Spanish behind, conveniently ignoring the fact that Spanish, too, was an imposed language. We fear that we're losing our culture, that our Spanish is so full of anglicisms that it's shameful, and that we're the Latin American country who speak Spanish the worst.

   My father travels every month as part of his job, and I've had this conversation with him before. He always ends up saying the same thing: it doesn't matter if you're in Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Suriname or Panama. English, as one of the most spoken languages in the world, has had a tremendous influence on hundreds of countries. The words "póster" (poster) is accepted by the Royal Spanish Academy of Language. Many Spaniards even use the world "puzle" for puzzle, despite the fact that there's already a Spanish word for that. 

   There's no denying that from a political perspective, Puerto Rico's relationship with the US sometimes makes us uncomfortable. There's nothing wrong with having discussions about imperialism and colonialism. Yet, it definitely puts a strain on how we talk about and discuss the topic of language. A nation's language isn't just a reflection of its past, it's an indicator of its future. As a country, Puerto Rico's historical journey has been filled with ups and downs, but for better or worse, our languages –both Spanish and English– are an intrinsic part of that journey.