Photos:Many people think the Puerto Rican language is different than that of the United States, but in reality it is very similar. On my trip to Puerto Rico I got to learn what influences the Puerto Rican languages just like every language. From our tour guide Papo I learned that Puerto Rican language was once officially Spanish when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony, but now the official language is English. One would never think the official language is English if they ever visited the island. Every local place I went people strictly spoke Spanish but new a little English. Barbara Velez, the lady who gave us a tour at La Concha Hotel in La Condado, said that in order to get any type of job in Puerto Rico in any aspect of tourism a person must be bilingual. Puerto Ricans themselves say that their official language is actually Spanglish. Over the years people have mixed both Spanish and English to become Spanglish. Papo said that people from Spain or any other strictly Spanish speaking country wouldn’t understand half of what the said, because their Spanglish is unique to Puerto Rico.
I noticed a lot of the signs in Puerto Rico have both Spanish and English on them. This way people that speak both languages understand what is being said. Culture and language have changed over time. Language in America and Puerto Rico is actually quiet similar because the mixing of cultures and the region in which someone lives makes their language distinct. Being from Oklahoma I have grown up saying phrases and words specific to the region like the word yall. People from other states laugh at the word yall
every time I say it, but to me it is just a common word. Also one word that comes to mind that has different words in different languages is a coke. Depending on where you grow up it is a coke a soda, a soda pop, or a pop. It is interesting to see how people use different phrases in different regions in America and Puerto Rico.
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