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106-514: The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico ( Spanish : Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico ) is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house , the Senate (Spanish: Senado ) normally composed of 27 senators, and the lower house ,
212-434: A bill of rights . The bill enumerates several freedoms, namely freedom of assembly , freedom of the press , freedom of religion , freedom of speech , freedom from unreasonable search and seizure , security in personal effects , and freedom from warrants issued without probable cause . It also establishes two fundamental declarations, that "the dignity of the human being is inviolable" and that all men are equal before
318-586: A sovereign country nor a state of the United States . Puerto Rico is subject to the territorial sovereignty and federal government of the United States , which is responsible for the monetary policy , foreign relations , defense , among enumerated powers . The local government of Puerto Rico is responsible for education , law enforcement , elections , among other reserved powers . Both governments share concurrent powers , including taxation and fiscal policy . The political status of Puerto Rico
424-571: A Bill of Rights. The proposed constitution was approved overwhelmingly by nearly 82% of the voters in a popular referendum on March 3, 1952 . The United States Congress and the President approved it, but required that the Article II (Bill of Rights), Section 20 (guaranteeing the right to education and various economic rights) be stricken and that language be added to Section 5 of Article II allowing non-governmental schools. On July 10, 1952,
530-647: A House that was composed of 32 members. In addition to the House, there was also an Administrative Council of 15 members, eight of whom were elected by a "Colegio de Compromisarios" and the other seven were named by the Governor General in representation of the Spanish monarch . After Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States on July 25, 1898, as part of the Spanish–American War , a military government
636-614: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of
742-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
848-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
954-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
1060-643: A general right to privacy in Puerto Rico. Section Nine creates more liberties for the press. It establishes that: Section Ten is similar to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution . It establishes that persons shall be protected against "unreasonable searches and seizures". It explicitly prohibits the use of wire-tapping . Furthermore, it declares that no search warrant shall be issued unless probable cause
1166-415: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
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#17327719321651272-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
1378-672: A referendum. It also has the power to consolidate or create municipalities. Under Article III, Sections 5 and 6, members of the Legislative Assembly must be fluent in either Spanish or English, must be a citizen of the United States and Puerto Rico, and have resided in Puerto Rico for at least two years prior to their election. Senators must be at least 30 years old, while House representatives must be at least 25 years old. Both Senators and Representatives (except those elected at-large ) must reside in their constituent district at least one year prior to their election. The following
1484-563: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
1590-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
1696-473: A single house, or maintain the bicameral legislature established by the 1917 Jones Act, which had been retained (with modifications) by the 1952 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. A vote for unicameralism would constitute a mandate for the Legislative Assembly to hold a second referendum on July 9, 2007, on the constitutional amendment that would establish a unicameral legislature by 2009. In
1802-556: A system of free and secular public education . It also establishes the right to vote , the right to life , and the right to liberty . There are a number of variations that make the Puerto Rico Bill of Rights distinct from that of the Federal Bill of Rights . For instance in Puerto Rico they do not have the right to trial by jury but they do have direct protections against wiretapping . In order to comply with
1908-546: Is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of
2014-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
2120-514: Is a list of legislative assemblies, with a count starting on the legislature elected in the 1948 Puerto Rican general election , following the enactment of the Puerto Rico Elective Governor Act of 1947 by president Harry S. Truman . Act No. 477 of September 23, 2004 provided for a referendum to be held on July 10, 2005, in which Puerto Rican voters were to indicate if they favored changing the Legislative Assembly to
2226-413: Is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including
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#17327719321652332-491: Is an ongoing debate . The United States government authorized Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution with the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 . The Constitutional Assembly met for a period of several months between 1951 and 1952 in which the document was written. The law required the framers to follow only two basic requirements: a republican form of government and inclusion of
2438-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2544-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
2650-547: Is shown. Section Eleven is primarily devoted to the rights of the accused. It also establishes that in all trials of felony the accused shall enjoy of a jury of twelve peers who render a verdict by majority vote in which no less than nine shall concur. Also, the section creates the right against self-incrimination as well as the prohibition of double jeopardy . Section Twelve outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, unless duly convicted. It also prohibits ex post facto laws and bills of attainder . Section Thirteen guarantees
2756-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
2862-533: Is the 19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico , composed of the 27th Senate and the 31st House of Representatives . The Legislative Assembly convenes at the Capitol in San Juan . The House of Representatives is the oldest legislative body in Puerto Rico. It was formed on November 25, 1897, when the Spanish government of Prime Minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta granted autonomy to the archipelago, creating
2968-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
3074-498: Is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers
3180-578: Is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
3286-612: The Constitution of Puerto Rico was formally adopted, establishing the current House of Representantes and Senate as the bicameral houses of the Legislative Assembly (as stated in Article III). The Constitution of Puerto Rico vests all legislative powers in the Legislative Assembly. Each house has the sole power to be the judge of the legal capacities of its members. The members of both houses are protected by parliamentary immunity, which Article III, Section 14 states "no member of
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3392-564: The House of Representatives (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes ) normally consisting of 51 representatives. Eleven members of each house are elected at-large rather than from a specific legislative district with all members being elected for a four-year term without term limits . The structure and responsibilities of the Legislative Assembly are defined in Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which vests all legislative power in
3498-466: The PPD majority led by Tatito Hernández began a discussion over amending the constitution. The speaker of the House of Representatives proposed increasing the governor's salary, replacing at large representatives by district elections and reducing the number of representatives from 51 to 45. Governor Pedro Pierluisi has favored term limits for legislators but has expressed opposition to proposals for
3604-594: The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) abstained from participating. The following is a list of the delegates: The delegates, which would eventually become the founding fathers of the current commonwealth of Puerto Rico, established 10 permanent committees : 7 which dealt with constitutional matters and 3 which dealt with the assembly's internal operations. The constitutional committees were as follows: The assembly held 62 sessions between September 17, 1951, and February 6, 1952, approving
3710-412: The Senate as the upper house and the House of Representatives as the lower house . It also established the composition of each house, and that Puerto Rico must be divided into senatorial and representative districts for the purpose of elections . The article also established a board that must revise the districts after each decennial census so that they remain practicable, and divided upon
3816-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
3922-446: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
4028-820: The United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses
4134-463: The electorate of the archipelago and island in a referendum on March 3, 1952 and proclaimed into effect by Governor Luis Muñoz Marín on July 25, 1952, celebrated as Constitution Day . As the constitution of a territory of the United States , it is bound by the Constitution of the United States . Under the constitution, the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is neither
4240-443: The equal protection clauses. Third, it includes a contract clause for the jurisdiction of the commonwealth. Finally, the sections guarantees that a minimum amount of the property owned by individuals will be exempt from government possession. Section Eight declares that every person has the right to be protected by law against attacks on their honor, reputation and private or family life. This section has been interpreted as creating
4346-522: The right to vote in Puerto Rico; Section Three is the religious clause of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. It prohibits the establishment of religion and protects the free exercise of religion . It reads; The last sentence specifically and concretely establishes the separation of church and state , a clause that is not found in the United States' Constitution but, rather, it is assumed and interpreted to exist. Section three leaves no doubt about
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4452-408: The unicameral referendum held on July 10, 2005, Puerto Rican voters approved a mandate for the Legislative Assembly to hold a second referendum on the constitutional amendment that would establish unicameral legislature by 456,267 votes in favor, versus 88,720 against; voter turnout was only 22.6%, the lowest turnout figure in Puerto Rico's electoral history, vastly below the 81.7% that had gone to
4558-533: The writ of habeas corpus , which can only be suspended by the Legislative Assembly in time of "rebellion, insurrection or invasion." Section Fourteen prohibits the use of titles of nobility . It also prohibits public officials to receive gifts from foreign powers without the approval of the Legislative Assembly. Section Fifteen deals with child labor . It prohibits the employment of children of less than fourteen years on jobs that may be "prejudicial to their health or morals". It also guarantees that no children under
4664-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
4770-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
4876-480: The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico , lit. 'Constitution of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico') is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico , describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine articles . It was ratified by
4982-690: The Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico reconvened and approved a resolution accepting those conditions, which were later ratified in a referendum held in November 1952, by the electorate. On July 25, 1952, Governor Luis Muñoz Marín proclaimed that the constitution was in effect. In a speech on July 25, 2013, Governor Alejandro García Padilla , despite the conditions established by Congress, proclaimed that, henceforth, Sec. 20 would be deemed by his administration to be in effect. In 1960, 1961, 1964 and 1970 voters approved amendments to
5088-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
5194-559: The Executive branch in sections 25-39 of the statute. It established a House of Representatives with 39 members and a Senate of 19 members, all elected directly by the people of the unincorporated territory. Puerto Rico was then divided into 7 senatorial districts and 35 house districts. The first Senate of Puerto Rico was elected in July 1917. The unincorporated territory is divided into 8 senatorial and 40 House districts. On July 25, 1952,
5300-424: The House of Representatives. The Senate retains the exclusive power to extend its consent to appointments to government offices made by the governor (judges, cabinet secretaries and others) as stated by law or Constitution. The Legislative Assembly, with the consent of two-thirds of each chamber may propose amendments to the constitution. Proposed amendments are then subject to approval by the people of Puerto Rico in
5406-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
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#17327719321655512-460: The Legislative Assembly shall be imprisoned...", they also shall not be held accountable for anything said in the floor. Each House holds exclusive powers that are not given to the other. The House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate an impeachment process and the Senate the exclusive power to pass judgement. All laws dealing with the commonwealth budget or taxes must originate in
5618-467: The Legislative Assembly. Every bill must be passed by both houses and signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico to become law. Each house has its unique powers. The constitution also states that each house shall be the unique judge on the legal capacity of its members. The constitution also grants parliamentary immunity to all elected members of the Legislative Assembly. The assembly currently in session
5724-540: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
5830-589: The Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn,
5936-452: The State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by
6042-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
6148-540: The U.S. president, and six sitting members consisting of the governor's cabinet . The political arrangement under the Foraker Act continued until 1917. On March 2 of that year, president Woodrow Wilson approved the Jones–Shafroth Act ( Pub. L. 64–368 , 39 Stat. 951 , enacted March 2, 1917 ), which provided for the creation of an completely separate legislative branch with regards to
6254-457: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
6360-472: The age of sixteen shall be kept in jail. Section Seventeen creates the fundamental right of employees, private and public, to organize themselves into associations and to negotiate with their employers. Section Eighteen also declares a fundamental right for employers to go on strike. However, the section ends by stating; "Nothing herein contained shall impair the authority of the Legislative Assembly to enact laws to deal with grave emergencies that clearly imperil
6466-410: The associations are military or quasi-military in nature. Section Seven contain several important fundamental rights. It reads; First, Section Seven establishes that the right to life is fundamental in Puerto Rico. Because of this, the section determines that the death penalty will not exist under the jurisdiction of the commonwealth. Second, the section contains the due process of law as well as
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#17327719321656572-439: The basis of population and means of communication. It also established how the number of members of each house must increase when a political party obtains more than two thirds of the seats in one or both houses. This was done in order to reduce the likelihood of one party having absolute control over constitutional amendments , as these require at least two thirds of the vote of each house in order to be enacted. Article Four
6678-579: The cases related to criminal offenses, sovereignty of Puerto Rico ultimately resides in the United States Congress . The argument made by the U.S. Supreme Court was interpreted by many as an affirmation of a severely diminished capacity of the constitutional stature that the Puerto Rican government had. This was the same idea of stature that the Puerto Rican government has had for nearly seven decades. Justice Elena Kagan stated that
6784-751: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
6890-432: The commonwealth. The section also establishes that education will be compulsory for elementary school, to the extent permitted by the facilities of the state. The section further establishes that no public property or public funds shall be used for the support of schools or educational institutions other than those of the state. Section Six declares the right of the people to organize themselves in associations, except if
6996-500: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
7102-673: The constitution in various referendums. A continuing debate has dealt with the legal status of Puerto Rico under the Federal Government of the United States. Certain decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States appeared to have interpreted the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution as still controlling over Puerto Rico. Under this clause, the United States Congress is
7208-467: The constitution within the assembly two days before concluding their affairs on February 4, 1952. The constitution was then overwhelmingly approved a month later by the people of Puerto Rico in a referendum held on March 3, 1952. The Preamble reads: The Preamble of the Constitution of Puerto Rico is more extensive than the Preamble to the United States Constitution . However, it has the similarity that
7314-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
7420-655: The creation of a recall referendum . Twelve weeks after the people of Puerto Rico approved to write their own constitution in a referendum , 92 individuals were elected as delegates to a constitutional assembly on August 27, 1951. Of these, 70 belonged to the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), 15 belonged to the Republican Statehood Party , while 7 belonged to the Puerto Rican Socialist Party . Members from
7526-446: The document as well as the seat of the new government, which shall be the city of San Juan . Article Two of the Constitution of Puerto Rico—titled as the Bill of Rights ( Spanish : Carta de Derecho )— lists the most important rights held by the citizens of Puerto Rico . The Bill of Rights was mandated by Pub. L. 81–600 which provided for the people of Puerto Rico to adopt a constitution of their own which had to include
7632-468: The existence of such separation in Puerto Rico. Section Four is very similar to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . It establishes the freedom of speech , freedom of the press , freedom of assembly and the right to petition . It reads; Section Five establishes the right to an education. It also mandates the establishment of a non-sectarian and free educational system for
7738-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
7844-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
7950-705: The governor must present a State of the State address to the Legislative Assembly each year, as well as a report on the Budget of the Government of Puerto Rico . The article also establishes the Council of Secretaries , and that all secretaries must be appointed with the advice and consent from the Senate of Puerto Rico , except for the Secretary of State which requires the advice and consent of
8056-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
8162-417: The human being is inviolable' and that ' all men are equal before the law.' . These two sentences have traditionally been interpreted by scholars as granting an unlimited number of rights, since anything that violates the dignity of a human being will be deemed unconstitutional. However, the remainder of the section concretely establishes the kinds of discriminations that are outlawed. Section Two establishes
8268-556: The language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it
8374-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
8480-431: The law . It also prohibits several discriminations, namely discrimination made on account of race , color, sex , birth , social origin or condition , or political or religious ideas . The bill even took a step further by declaring such principles as essential to human equality . The Bill of Rights also establishes explicitly that there shall be complete separation of church and state , and that Puerto Rico must have
8586-629: The legislative branch include: Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish
8692-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
8798-631: The nature of the relationship established by the 1950 and 1952 legislation, allegedly breaching the compact between the United States and the People of Puerto Rico. The debate was fueled when the Supreme Court decided that the Double Jeopardy Clause bars Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting a single person for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws. The Supreme Court ruling stated that, at least in
8904-544: The new government for the unincorporated territory, which shall bear the name of Commonwealth of Puerto Rico . It declares that the source of the power of the government emanates from the people. The following three sections of the Article establish the Republican form of government of the unincorporated territory, divided into three branches (legislative, executive and judicial) and specifies the territorial jurisdiction of
9010-734: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
9116-414: The parliamentary procedure to enact bills , namely that they must be printed, read, referred to a commission and returned therefrom with a written report, approved by the majority of which each house is composed, and signed by the governor in order to become law. The article also established the exclusive powers of each house, as well as establishing the post of Comptroller . Article Four describes
9222-399: The people do not have it. This is a safeguard against strict literal interpretations of the constitution with which the people will be denied all the rights not specifically listed here, such as a right to travel between districts at their own leisure (see propiska ), or the right to travel abroad. The article establishes that the territorial legislature must be bicameral , and composed by
9328-524: The polls just a few months earlier for the general election. Another referendum was scheduled for July 2007 to approve the specific amendments to the Constitution of Puerto Rico that are required for the change. However, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ruled in June that it could not force the Legislative Assembly to initiate a constitutional amendment process to become a single chamber legislature. Further moves to unicameralism have been tabled . Agencies of
9434-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
9540-497: The posts of President of the Senate and Speaker of the House without any other specifics besides the title of the posts although interpretatively the article meant them to be the presiding officers of their respective house. The article also established that the sessions of each house must be open, what constitutes quorum , and where should they meet, namely in the Capitol of Puerto Rico . It also granted parliamentary immunity to its members. Article Four also established
9646-478: The powers, structure, functions, responsibilities, and legal scope of the Governor of Puerto Rico , the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico . The article establishes the term length of the governor and the requirements to hold such post, as well as establishing the governor as commander-in-chief of the militia, namely the Puerto Rico National Guard . It also establishes that
9752-508: The preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it only explains the rationale behind the Constitution. Yet, it specifically details the determining factors that the Puerto Rican people have chosen as the basis for their new government. It also establishes the Constitution's loyalty to the principles of the Federal Constitution. The remainder of the document consists of nine articles: Article One establishes
9858-463: The public health or safety or essential public services." Section Nineteen is similar to the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution . It reads; This section stresses out that the civil rights and liberties outlined in this Bill of Rights do not constitute an exclusive list thereof; others may exist. In other words, just because a civil right is not listed here, does not mean that
9964-463: The recognized sovereign of the island. In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the purpose of Congress in the 1950 and 1952 legislation was to accord to Puerto Rico the degree of autonomy and independence normally associated with a State of the Union. However, on June 9, 2016, as an outcome of the case known as Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle , the U.S. Supreme Court incited a debate regarding
10070-412: The requirements of Public Law 600, the framers of the Constitution of Puerto Rico decided to draft an extensive list of rights which were then organized into a whole Article of the constitutional document. It is divided into nineteen sections, each one listing one or several rights which are deemed fundamental under Puerto Rican constitutional law . Section One begins by establishing that ' the dignity of
10176-454: The ruling in the case of 'Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle' was confined solely to the corresponding issue of double jeopardy within a criminal case, not to the whole of Puerto Rico's political status. Still, the outcome fueled a debate regarding the current nature of the political relationship established between Puerto Rico and United States of America. In 1994 and 2012 constitutional amendments were proposed but these were unsuccessful. In 2021
10282-415: The term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of
10388-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
10494-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
10600-640: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
10706-457: Was also very loose regarding the rules overseeing each house, establishing that each house must be the sole judge of the election, returns and qualifications of its members, that each house must choose its own officers, and that each house must adopt rules for its own proceedings appropriate to legislative bodies. This, in essence, gives broad powers to each house on how to structure itself and which procedures it must follow. It, however, established
10812-634: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
10918-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
11024-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
11130-402: Was imposed archipelago. This was until April 12, 1900, when the U.S. Congress approved the first civil government for Puerto Rico under the federal Foraker Act . The act granted the archipelago with a civil governor (named by the U.S. President ) and a House of Delegates composed of 35 members elected by the people of Puerto Rico, as well as an Executive Council of 11 members, designated all by
11236-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
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