Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sure, but Quebec would ultimately do pretty well if they were to go on their own. PR, probably not. I think both of their mindsets feature a conflicting question- "Who are we?" I think the Quebecois think of themselves as Quebecois first, Canadians second. So it is with the PRs. You cannot throw your complete loyalty in with the mother country, but you cannot celebrate yourself because you are still under her roof. Hence my use of the term "halfway house."
Ironically enough, I, being a resident of Washington, DC, have the same status as PR. And Guam. We are all opressed.
Side note here:
The Francophone culture in Quebec is in danger: apparently the young people there prefer to speak English------which I can understand. French, like Spanish are both regional tongues with little impact beyond their national borders whereas English is the lingua franca of the world.
Plus; the birthrate in Quebec is well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.
As for Puerto Rico: one thing that has not been underlined is if PR became a state; the Spanish language there will likely fade out after 2 generations.
Hard to say if PR was granted independence.......looking at any Hispanic country with the glaring exception of modern Spain, it does not bode well for prosperity and the rule of law .
The Francophone culture in Quebec is in danger: apparently the young people there prefer to speak English------which I can understand. French, like Spanish are both regional tongues with little impact beyond their national borders whereas English is the lingua franca of the world.
Plus; the birthrate in Quebec is well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.
As for Puerto Rico: one thing that has not been underlined is if PR became a state; the Spanish language there will likely fade out after 2 generations.
Hard to say if PR was granted independence.......looking at any Hispanic country with the glaring exception of modern Spain, it does not bode well for prosperity and the rule of law .
This is my biggest fear and a great point. This is why I do not support statehood.
The Puerto Rican culture will suffer. There is no question about that. Time and time again there have been examples of this (such as Quebec). You can argue Spanish is important to the region, however what about when immigration gets really locked down (as it already is). Even in America language gets wiped out quick. Look at the grandchildren of immigrants.
I do oppose statehood strongly, however indepedance would be a very long hard struggle. I don't think my people have it in them. Not after after so many years of dependence. It's a shame.
Personally, I would vote independance though. I'm willing to struggle for my culture and my history. To make something our own. No matter what the cost, I feel freedom, making something our own would be the most beneficial to the Puerto Rican community on the island and world wide.
I think it's essential that an important distinction be made here. Regardless of whether or not more Puerto Ricans begin speaking English (which, by the way, is almost certainly going to happen whether PR becomes a state or not) does NOT mean that would destroy the culture. Pick almost in country in the world and more and more of its people are starting to speak English but that does not mean all those countries abandoned their cultures and turned American. Language is not culture, they are different words for a reason.
Additionally, although this next point is not nearly as straightforward as the one above, I will make it anyway. As I've indicated previously, you can still to this day drive around the United Stated and see dozens of different cultures. Even after all this time, they have not disappeared. And considering how Puerto Rico is geographically separated, there's even less chance that the culture would disappear. If there are still different cultures within the mainland U.S. after hundreds of years, there is no reason to think that Puerto Rico would lose its. Yes, over an extended period of time there would occur something of a melting pot effect. And here is where I freely acknowledge that everything from here on becomes a matter of personal opinion... but I believe that is a good thing. Indeed, the melting pot effect is one of the primary reasons why the United States went on the become the strongest and most prosperous country in the history of the world. Embracing this concept could very well have an important impact on the future prosperity of Puerto Rico as well. In fact, history has proven that cultures which do embrace it have indeed prospered and those which fought it didn't.
Info: Schools must teach English in all grades and is basically spoken in the tourist areas...
Language: Spanish and English are the official languages, but Spanish is without a doubt the dominant language. English is spoken for about 1/4 of the population-with limited capabilities. English is required in all federal matters. English is spoken in all major tourist areas (%80 Spanish, %20 other).
Interesting Fact
* Spanish or Castilian (español or castellano) is, like French, Portuguese, Italian, an Iberian Romance language, derived from Latin. Spanish is a phonetic language, words are pronounced exactly as they are spelt.
* According to Ethnologue Spanish is the second language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and ahead of English. Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people worldwide, primarily in Spain and Latin America. Spanish is the official language in 24 countries, with over 323 million native speakers, Puerto Rico accounts for less than 4 million (figure from the 15th Edition of the Ethnologue). With such large geographic expanse the Spanish language has developed many local variations or dialects.
These variations are the result of different regions and countries integration of their local history and culture - creating differences in concepts, usage, idioms and vocabulary; and distinct accents.
Puerto Rico has develop a unique version of Spanish. The language was greatly influenced by Puerto Rico's history. Puerto Ricans integrated thousands of TaÃno words, adopted some pronunciation habits from African dialects, and incorporated English words or phrases (known as "Spanglish") into the language.
Puerto Ricans can understand Spanish speakers from other countries, while there may be some differences, such differences are not excessive and does not obstruct communication.
* Language has been a central issue in Puerto Rican education and culture since 1898. Until 1930 U.S. authorities insisted upon making English the language of instruction in the schools, the intent being to produce English-speaking persons of American culture in the same way this is done in the United States public schools. But strong resistance to the policy finally brought a change to the use of Spanish as the basic school language, English becoming a second language studied by all. In 1991 the Puerto Rican legislature, following the lead of the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party and the governor, Rafael Hernández Colon, endorsed a bill that made Spanish the island's official language, thus reversing a 1902 law that gave both Spanish and English official recognition. In 1993 the pro-statehood governor, Pedro J. Rossello, signed legislation restoring equal status to Spanish and English.
Of course the best strategy for poor countries is to copy what formerly poor countries have done. Ireland emphasized education and made itself a great place for foreign investment. It also used its EU aid well. Could PR do the same?
PR and Ireland both have around 4 million inhabitants.
The problem with PR is that they have about 8x less area and are grossly overcrowded and overtax the islands resources.
Without the US to absorb their population overflow they'd strangle their island the rest of the way which is a shame.
I frankly don't care if they leave or stay....and I'm pretty sure most of the US feels that way. I do think it's funny to hear the PR nationalists talk about what a utopia life would be without the evil US involvement. They should look around at the rest of the carribean....it's their future.
PR and Ireland both have around 4 million inhabitants.
The problem with PR is that they have about 8x less area and are grossly overcrowded and overtax the islands resources.
Without the US to absorb their population overflow they'd strangle their island the rest of the way which is a shame.
Prudent family planning would lead to managable population growth. I also doubt the US would ever shut the door totally to them.
Quote:
I frankly don't care if they leave or stay....and I'm pretty sure most of the US feels that way. I do think it's funny to hear the PR nationalists talk about what a utopia life would be without the evil US involvement. They should look around at the rest of the carribean....it's their future.
Will the residents change the current position of commonwealth?
Obviously there's no way to predict the future. All that can be said on this is what has already been said - that all votes thus far have left it as a commonwealth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunrico90
They have the best of both worlds..
I really have no idea why you would make such a proclamation. Clearly there are MANY who would disagree. If being a commonwealth truly provided all the best parts of being a state and all the best parts of being an independent country then Puerto Rico would be in a far far better position. As it is now, it isn't even the best of one world - for example, compared to even the poorest U.S. state, Puerto Rico is MUCH poorer with almost 50% of the population living in poverty! And to compound matters, those poor don't have access to the same level of medical programs because PR is not a state and therefore only receives 15% of the federal medicare funding that they would receive were they a state. I could keep going but you get the idea - they certainly do not have the best of both worlds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunrico90
Lots of changes for everyone. Would many families leave the island if this one becomes independent or our 51 state?
Some would leave but most would stay, assuming of course that IF it went the direction of independence, the political corruption many already talk about in Puerto Rico didn't escalate to rampant full-scale corruption with no more U.S. Federal Government to keep it in check. If that were to happen then yes, many who had already been born there with U.S. citizenship would take advantage of that fact and emigrate to the U.S.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
