Statehood for Puerto Rico: The language issue

[cristobalito1966]

Este tío Pierluisi se ha dejado vender por los yanquis. No creo que la mayoría del pueblo puertorriqueño quiera convertirse en anglohablantes. Si se decide estudiar el inglés en los institutos pues es diferente pero imponerlo como lengua nacional me parece una tontería que por cierto nunca ocurrirá.

[cristobalito1966]

El pueblo puertorriqueño habla español y punto. Que se chinchen los yanquis. Espero que los puertorriqueños no se rindan nunca a E.E.U.U. La cultura es hispana. Que os deis cuenta de eso, norteamericanos.

[puertorricanstar]

VIVA Puerto RICO LIBRE, independence now fuck USA

[makai5182]

Congressman Pierluisi he can barely speak english what the hell is he talking about?? Hawaii is a State because of Military strategic point to Asia. Alaska is a state because of Military and economic interest. Puerto Rico ??? it is more of a burden to U.S. taxpayers specially in this modern economy. teach them how to run their country, teach them about this freedom that we promote.

[pito1so3phresh]

all languages comes from latin anyways so piffed........ pr should become a state

[puertorricanstar]

@pito1so3phresh you sir are retarded as fuck, not all languages come from latin only a few do

[pito1so3phresh]

@puertorricanstar you fucking moron are you kidding me?

I GUESS YOU NEVER BEEN IN WORLD HISTORY AP CLASSES IN COLLEGE HAVE YOU? ur just the typical dumb fuck who dont know shit all langueges orinated from spanish (latin) ALL!... english included

[puertorricanstar]

@pito1so3phresh what colllege did you go to? the supid one? your fuking stupid, latin came from ancient rome,italy, the human race originated from africa, latin is NOT Spanish,Spanish came from latin and so did french,italian,portugese and romanian, just cuz we latinos are called "latinos" dosent mean we speak latin, latin is an almost dead language go do some research dumbass go back to diferent school,

[pito1so3phresh]

@puertorricanstar dude ur a rextarded fucking cunt i know the human race originated from africa u moron but when the humans dicided they wanted to talk they came up with spanish (latin) is spanish in every way possible they all the other languages came to be

[puertorricanstar]

@pito1so3phresh jajajajajajaja omg ill just leave you stupid

[pito1so3phresh]

@puertorricanstar go ahead fucking moron ..... go do your research bitch

[magpulEli24]

cant go far with 4 million citizens



[magpulEli24]

400,000 maybe 600,000 soldiers and sailors

[kilo9161]

chinese navy ready for wat china does not need russia arms any more to attack us and puerto rico

[ttiiyy]

@kilo9161 How's that related to this video, you stupid cunt?

[kilo9161]

@ttiiyy WAR

[undergrounhiph0p]

i agree wit the kat wit the heavier accent i dont want to see my grandparents motherland turn into a english speaking island thats part of our pride

[ttiiyy]

@undergrounhiph0p Here's some good news for you: most of us in the US don't care about Puerto Rico. I think the US should just give up Puerto Rico.

[pito1so3phresh]

@ttiiyy -.- lol they want puerto rico for war

[ttiiyy]

@pito1so3phresh What kind of war????

[pito1so3phresh]

@ttiiyy any war they migth have in the future ... the world isnt perfect u kno

[ttiiyy]

@pito1so3phresh But how many soldiers can the US get from PR?

[pito1so3phresh]

@ttiiyy theres 6 million puerto ricans in the usa and 4 million in puerto rico the island so probaly half of that cuz almost my whole family has been in the army or is in it

[CHAM0RRITO]

In Guam, a former Spanish colony, all the Spanish language education was removed. The native Chamorro language, which contains over 50% Spanish words, barely survives. The post WWII years, Chamorro children were punished for speaking the native language in schools. The dynamics are very different in each territory.

[florescaramelo]

PIERLUIS FIRST OFF WHY DONT YOU ASK HAWAII IF THEY WANT TO STAY A STATE. SECOND ASK ALASKA WHY THEY ARE A STATE. I BELIEVE BECAUSE OF OIL RESERVES?

[sabin97]

ajajajaja

3:31 - "equal footin'"

[Nerudas666]

Pierluisi moron, una cosa es que personas inmigrantes hables otras lenguas que no sea ingles y otra que acepte una nacion de habla hispana como estado de otra nacion de habla anglosajona...

[florescaramelo]

jajajajaj el dijo q el es bilingue y que en puerto rico las agencias de gobierno hablan ingles pero en la realidad es que le hablas ingles y se quedan brutos igual que el. los que quieren la estadidad solo quieren el beneficio de el SSI

[kathydiaz86]

que viva el español y el inglés tambien, mientras mas idiomas hable una persona, mas puerta se les abrira en la vida. No dejemos que el fanatismo nos cierre la mente ;)

[kathydiaz86]

@WakkoXtreme it has been 112 years since the United States invaded Puerto Rico... now tell me, did we stop speaking spanish? mejor te lo digo en español, pa hacerle honra al idioma! hemos dejado de hablar español? claramente no! pero me gustaria que todo el mundo en Puerto Rico pudiera ser bilingue, ya que eso nos abriria mas las puertas tanto en lo personal como profesional y no cerranos a solo el español, a veces la gente se va a los extremos del apasionamiento...

[kathydiaz86]

@WakkoXtreme I agree that Puerto Rico doesn't need to become a state so the citizens can learn english, i learned english and i never have lived in the states, but, i dont think that becoming a state will affect our first language that of course is spanish, we always will speak spanish as a first language, because the state is the one who defines which is the official language , thats why United States as a whole doesnt have an official language

[kathydiaz86]

@WakkoXtreme if you can speak all those languages, why you dont want the people of Puerto Rico to do it too??

[Hernandez101010]

¡Viva Puerto Rico Español!

[kathydiaz86]

I wonder if Puerto Rico becomes a Republic, where are going to go all the dominicans who lives here? lol come on.. we are like dominican republic , mexico and jamaica?? well... look where are those people going? where are they going? to USA, idiot!!! they have to risk their lives looking for a better life for their family because they cant get that in their countries!!! thats seems what you want for us too, i cant believe there are still people that blind

[kathydiaz86]

@WakkoXtreme

then why you speak english or how did you learn? you want your kids to be no body in this life? wow...

[MrTiguero]

Again Rivera? How dare you compare Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica or Mexico? Our Dominican brothers are dying of hunger in the hands of a government that does not work. Puerto Rico is not a republic, apparently that is what you want for this island.People like you, with that line of thought, are responsible for maintaining a country, blind and ignorant. Stop living in the 60, 70 or 80. We must teach our children English. In this way we will continue opening doors.

[ColdCutz007]

if you live in the sates and say your not americanized i believe that is false we who are puerto rican in the sates have been or still is being influenced by american culture and living, our kids who grow up in the states are americanized to a point but that point is greater than lesserl.we can never say we aren't influenced.i think we should really look at our lifes and wonder what is independence from the states and is it really that bad to be americanized.we can be both proud american and PR

[Rivera8186]

Free Puerto Rico say no to state hood

[guajon1]

Pierluisi you need to learn history. The USA impose the english in Puerto rico for almost 50 years and was the opossition and rejection of the people who stop that not the politicians.

[guajon1]

Puerto Rico is a Nation with one languge ( spanish ) and one culture . With his own traditions , music , food etc. Everything esle is a lie from the statehood suporters.

[5m18r14n]

if language is a issue why here in the states we need to translate everything because we have a mayority of resident dont understand english.....

[presidente006]

BTW. The aunt I spoke of earlier....She doesnt speak a lick of English...And neither do most Statehooders. If the Puerto Rican people would actually start to research the facts on their own country rather than to listen to them via the grapevine, the would learn that Puerto Rico still has many natural resources. And it's geographical location makes it incredibly valuable to whomever is responsible for her. Why do you think the United States has not let Puerto Rico go for 112 years?

[presidente006]

Pierluisi also lied when he stated that "if you speak English, you will get services anywhere in Puerto Rico". Maybe in San Juan... Which sadly has become less and less like Puerto Rico and more like other American cities. And even in San Juan it's not guaranteed!! Puerto Ricans sadly vote based on the three parties involved. Not the issues that affect them everyday. I do agree. We should learn English. Just like we should learn Chinese, Italian, etc. But we should not lose our country for that.

[presidente006]

The majority of the Puerto Ricans that want Statehood dont want it for the reasons that Pierluisi says they do. The simplest and most honest reason that they want Statehood is because they believe that Puerto Rico can not survive on it's own. A perfect example of that is my aunt. A DIE HARD Statehooder who never went past the 3rd grade, has NEVER left Puerto Rico and gets all of her political information from the local "bochinche".

[EDDIEMARTI]

America is a great place where many cultures meet, thus improving the American culture. It's awesome if we were to join in to improve their culture with our culture. Joining America helps it to become a better country, not an empire.

[MikelCRS]

Assuming Puerto Ricans wants statehood because they recognize themselves as Americans demonstrate absolutely no knowledge of the situation in the ground.

Puerto Ricans find themselves voting for economical reasons, not for political ones. They vote because they've been fed the idea that without the US they wouldn't be able to survive. Absurd, at best.

Therefore, anyone assuming that votes reflect pride is nothing but blatant efforts to mislead American perception of reality.

[presidente006]

@MikelCRS Finally!!! Someone who has figured it out! I dont know who you are Sir but THANK YOU!! For 112 years, the US has lied to the Puerto Rican people, constantly telling them that they cant make it w/o US aid. The Statehood movement, for the simple reason of advancing their cause, joins in on the lies. So many generations of our people are so brainwashed that many actually believe that this is true w/o ever doing their research. Thanks again!!!

[zavish]

According to the Constitution of the USA, it is not a requisite for a US territory to eliminate their local or predominant language. Here in PR we have two official languages: English and Spanish. Just like Texas and New Mexico has English and Spanish as official languages, just like Louisiana has English, Spanish and French as official languages. Puerto Rico has the RIGHT do DEMAND Statehood if the majority of our people vote for it (and I'm sure we will). We are proud US Citizens since birth.

[Jerry1605]

Por gente patriotica es q el mundo esta lleno de odio y racismo entre paises pensando en cultura y se olvidan que todos somos hermanos de Dios que vivimos en un solo planeta.

[Jerry1605]

"No es lo mismo llamar al diablo que verlo venir"

[ConcepcionPR]

Puerto Rican Independence

[ConcepcionPR]

We are Puerto Rican! This is our heritage, we dont have 2 langauges we speak spanish.. Puerto Rico is my homeland its our homeland lets not lose it!!!

[shussey100]

You are blinded and manipulated. Your daddy bush spent this country into oblivion and ruined you not Obama who is trying to fix your corporation owned democracy sham.

[Unknownkid2]

La estadidad es veneno para Puerto Rico. Somos una poblacion de habla hispana y no es justo que tenemos que cambiar nuestras formas de ser para los Estados Unidos cuando ellos eran el pais que decidio a anexionar a Puerto Rico. Yo aopoyo la independencia para la isla. El gobierno impuesto por EEUU no nos esta ayudando, sino fomentando la dependencia.

[ttiiyy]

People want to preserve their own cultures. French Americans can preserve French. German Americans can preserve German. But Spanish Americans can't preserve Spanish? What the fuck?

I don't like Hispanics that try to force asian people to learn Spanish, but I think GOP has some double standards.

[PUNKDUDE1991]

thats the whole point...confuse people so statehood would win....that guy pierluisi is so wrong...people in PR hated the US up until 1950's...we as a people never wanted to learn english or become citezens....the langueage and the citezenship were imposed by US so we could take a bunch of bullets for americans in all the wars...less than 30% of puertoricans speak english...and by the way if there is no official language we do we need to speak, write and understand english...iin't spanish enough

[ttiiyy]

@PUNKDUDE1991 I'm confused by your message. Are you saying that PR should become an independent country?

And by the way, who did/do Puerto Ricans hate Americans?

I thought Spanish exploited Puerto Ricans, and the US freed PR.

[PUNKDUDE1991]

@ttiiyy.... THATS A LIE...... Spain exploited PR...the same way the United States has done it

you can never compare a goverment of the1600's hundred to a democratic republic like the us in the 1900's up until now

[ttiiyy]

@PUNKDUDE1991 I guess Spain did exploit PR, but many PR's have the Spanish blood. They are not going to give up Spanish.

That's what the US government should have taken into consideration when deciding to take over PR.

[CordilleraCentral]

@ttiiyy In fact we are not going to give up spanish. Our culture is hispanic and we proud of our Spanish heritage. Before you open your mouth saying Spain exploited us make some research. US didn't freed Puerto Rico. Before US invaded us that same year Spain gave Puerto Rico the "Carta Autonomica" which gave freedom of commerce, Spanish citizenship, representation with votes in spanish parlament, self government and be an official Spanish Province. Puerto Rico wans't a simple colony.

[CordilleraCentral]

@CordilleraCentral That's much better than what we currently have with US. It's no coincidence that US decided to invade us that year. They clearly wanted to prevent the implementation of the new freedoms given by Spain. They knew that if they waited after that they wouldn't have the excuse that they came to liberate us. So they had to hurry and launch the attack before Puerto Rico could get its autonomy. This relation inst Puerto Rico's fault.

[PUNKDUDE1991]

@CordilleraCentral ....exactly...USA did not invade a colony the invaded a province of spain...and to top it off they invaded the one that had more freedom of them all

they have occupied PR by force...and they still do

[ttiiyy]

@PUNKDUDE1991 Occupied PR by force?

I don't think you are being entirely fair. PR governor and lawmakers were in D.C., asking for statehood.

If the US were as evil as you said, why the hell were thse PR politicians doing in D.C. and asking for statehood for?

Give me a break. You can believe in whatever the hell you want to believe in. I'm entitled to my own opinion.

[CordilleraCentral]

@ttiiyy LOL. It is a fact that Puerto Rico was occupied by force during Spanish American War. Read the name "war''. No wonder our ghost governor was in USA, he's never in Puerto Rico. And since people dislike him so much after he won with so many lies he doesn't like to be in PR. He is always hiding and after all the 2449 bill was defeated in US senate because it was biased in favor of statehood. And even if he won with 52% right now his popularity is the worst of a governor ever 27%.

[prjibaro1]

@CordilleraCentral

By force or that PR recieved them and even helped them beat the Spanish, some revolutionaries wanted them on here and even some wanted to annex PR to the US, you can check it on any PR history book.

[CordilleraCentral]

@ttiiyy Pro statehood governors from the most corrupted party ever the New Progressive Party have won since 1960's. Yeah they got more than 40 people in federal jail for corruption in that party. That is disgusting. Anyway thing is even if they can win elections statehood have never won any status referendum and it will never will. When people vote for an administration they ain't voting for statehood. Merely the administration.

[ttiiyy]

@CordilleraCentral  I want you to know that I do NOT care about politics.

But just you know, many PR's do demand statehood.

I fully respect both sides' opinions. My only concern is where people will get the money to feed the new state government if PR does obtain statehood.

It's only the money issue that concerns me the most.

As for politicians, they are ALL corrupt. I don't think there are "clean" politicians in PR or the US!

[Unknownkid2]

@ttiiyy If you read the history of Puerto Rico you will know that the United States DID invade and occupy Puerto Rico by force. The island had no involvement in the "explosion" that happened in La Habana, Cuba.

[PUNKDUDE1991]

@ttiiyy ...my great grandfather was born Spanish citizen .....& im proud of my Spanish (Spanish, Jewish, Muslim, Celtic), French, Italian, dutch (belgium, netherlands and germany), Greek and of course above all my taino blood and my African blood

as you can se from my family tree were more close to europe specially spain than the US

the only thing american i have is a social security number and a imposed citizenship so i can die for them in wars....they create

[VivaBoricua93]

Pedro Pierlusi You Are Mistaken, the System Of Education In Puerto Rico back In those Days DID Fail, Not Because They Weren't Teaching English, But Because they were teaching IN English, theres a big difference, yes they were teaching English as a subject , but all of the other subjects taught , were given in english, to a student population who all they knew was Spanish, It's Not fair To teach them in a foreign language , they only caught on bits and pieces, which is why it failed

[legoJmaster]

stay as a Free asociated state (estado libre asosiado)wee keep it like that were fine . Fortuño made a mess and wants to become state . we loose our olimpic team! : (

[ttiiyy]

One of the speakers makes a good point. There is no official language in the US. So that's why many people in PR have a hard time taking English education seriously.

[oscom]

I'm an American Puerto Rican and I'll give my life for America and defend her and care for her, and I favor statehood for P.R. but we need to keep Spanish as 1st language and make it mandatory for all Island Puerto Ricans to learn English as 2nd language! God bless America & P.R.

[ttiiyy]

@oscom Do you have the Spanish blood? Why do you care so much about the Spanish education?

Instead of bonding with the English-speaking US, why not just fight for the independence of PR?

There are many Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico or Spain that PR can build alliances with.

Don't you think independence might be a better option for PR?

I think PR will become a wonderful Spanish speaking country like Spain.

PR and the US just don't go together.

[Burdock007]

@oscom You aint american YOU AINT nothing you are a fucking idiot that doesn't know a shit about Puerto Rico go fuck yourself and sttay in USA.

mandatory to learn english? are you fucking idiot then how about the dumb ass american learn spanish as mandatory fuck head.

Do you speak spanish? nahh you dont.

I AM PUERTO RICAN, I LIVE IN PUERTO RICO INDEPENDENCE FOR PUERTO RICO NOW!

[HaZeLWing05]

im puertorican and I support statehood!!!!!

[VivaBoricua93]

They Want to be part of a country that has already taken away civil liberties? (thanks to the patriot act enacted by Bush and has yet to be repealed by Obama) and allows police to brutally assault its protesters? (just watch the recent news in PR) a country that because of its navy testing weapons on Vieques resulted in unaturally high levels of cancer and hypertension?, Ok, go ahead, pero cuando Tio Sam le joda no vengan llorando