How many Louisianians speak French?
Exact numbers are not known. Louisiana has 975,000 residents who are of French, French Canadian, African or other Francophone heritage.
A survey conducted in 1990 by CODOFIL and the University of Southwestern Louisiana shows that 42.1% of the sampled French-speaking population is over the age of 45 and that knowledge and usage of French increase with age.
The survey disclosed that 13.2% of French speakers sampled say they were able to write French, and 34.3% said they could read French, but only 8.5% actually do on a regular basis.
Which French do Louisianians speak? 9% of French speakers speak Creole French, 33% speak Standard French, and 58% speak Cajun French.
Courtesy of CODOFIL
http://www.espacefrancophone.org/evangeline/english/page054.html
Language Legislation in Louisiana
"To date, 22 States – including my home State of Louisiana – have already
declared English their official language."
– Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.)
Louisiana has never declared an "official language" as such. In 1812, it became the first and only state to enter the Union in which a non-English-speaking group commanded a popular majority. Because the dominance of French in Louisiana caused some concerns in Washington, Congress required the state's first constitution to safeguard the rights of English speakers. This provision (later dropped) required that all laws and official documents be published in the language "in which the Constitution of the United States is written" – that is, in English, but not only in English.
Until the Civil War, Louisiana continued to publish documents in French and its legislature continued to operate bilingually as a practical necessity. Numerous officials, including Governor Jacques Villeré (1816-1820), did not speak English. Louisiana's 1845 constitution made these practices a requirement – a recognition of French language rights. An 1847 law authorized bilingual instruction in the state's public schools.
Article XII, § 4 of Louisiana's current (1974) constitution provides:
The right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their respective historic linguistic and cultural origins is recognized.
This principle is also embodied in Louisiana's Revised Statutes (43:204)*:
When advertisements are required to be made in relation to judicial process, or in the sale of property for undpaid taxes, or under judicial process or any other legal process of whatever kind, they shall be made in the English language and may in addition be duplicated in the French language. State and local officials and public institutions are reconfirmed in the traditional right to publish documents in the French language in addition to English.
*Thanks to the Louisiana State Library for this reference.
Copyright © 1997 by James Crawford. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for free, noncommercial distribution, provided that credit is given and this notice is included.
http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/can-la.htm
“Spanish language variation and ethnic identity in New Mexico”
New Mexico is a part of the United States that borders on Mexico. A high proportion of the population of the state is Hispanic, estimated at 44.4% in 2007 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.Most of this Hispanic population claims to be Spanish speaking.
These Spanish speakers represent two major dialects. One dialect is concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the state and derives from early Hispanic settlement in the region beginning in 1598. This variety we label the Traditional Spanish of New Mexico. The other dialect, which we
call the Border Spanish of New Mexico, is represented primarily in the southern third of the state and is more closely aligned historically and linguistically with the Spanish speakers of northern Mexico.
This linguistic division is closely associated with differences in self-identification. For a complex of historical reasons involving social and political matters – particularly concerning the now economically dominant non-Hispanic, non-Indian minority in the state, the “Anglos” – the speakers of Traditional Spanish tend to reject identification with the more recently arriving speakers of Border Spanish. Though both populations typically label themselves as mexicano in Spanish, self-identification in English diverges strongly. Census data, for example, show that Spanish speakers from northern New Mexico prefer to call themselves “Hispanic” or “Spanish”
whereas those from the southern part of the state are likely to prefer “Mexican” or “Mexican American”.
Reference
Bills, Garland D., and Neddy A. Vigil. 2008. The Spanish language of New Mexico and southern
Colorado: A linguistic atlas. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
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TAKE YOUR PICK. WHICH LANGUAGE IS IN BETTER SITUATION?
Exact numbers are not known. Louisiana has 975,000 residents who are of French, French Canadian, African or other Francophone heritage.
A survey conducted in 1990 by CODOFIL and the University of Southwestern Louisiana shows that 42.1% of the sampled French-speaking population is over the age of 45 and that knowledge and usage of French increase with age.
The survey disclosed that 13.2% of French speakers sampled say they were able to write French, and 34.3% said they could read French, but only 8.5% actually do on a regular basis.
Which French do Louisianians speak? 9% of French speakers speak Creole French, 33% speak Standard French, and 58% speak Cajun French.
Courtesy of CODOFIL
http://www.espacefrancophone.org/evangeline/english/page054.html
Language Legislation in Louisiana
"To date, 22 States – including my home State of Louisiana – have already
declared English their official language."
– Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.)
Louisiana has never declared an "official language" as such. In 1812, it became the first and only state to enter the Union in which a non-English-speaking group commanded a popular majority. Because the dominance of French in Louisiana caused some concerns in Washington, Congress required the state's first constitution to safeguard the rights of English speakers. This provision (later dropped) required that all laws and official documents be published in the language "in which the Constitution of the United States is written" – that is, in English, but not only in English.
Until the Civil War, Louisiana continued to publish documents in French and its legislature continued to operate bilingually as a practical necessity. Numerous officials, including Governor Jacques Villeré (1816-1820), did not speak English. Louisiana's 1845 constitution made these practices a requirement – a recognition of French language rights. An 1847 law authorized bilingual instruction in the state's public schools.
Article XII, § 4 of Louisiana's current (1974) constitution provides:
The right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their respective historic linguistic and cultural origins is recognized.
This principle is also embodied in Louisiana's Revised Statutes (43:204)*:
When advertisements are required to be made in relation to judicial process, or in the sale of property for undpaid taxes, or under judicial process or any other legal process of whatever kind, they shall be made in the English language and may in addition be duplicated in the French language. State and local officials and public institutions are reconfirmed in the traditional right to publish documents in the French language in addition to English.
*Thanks to the Louisiana State Library for this reference.
Copyright © 1997 by James Crawford. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for free, noncommercial distribution, provided that credit is given and this notice is included.
http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/can-la.htm
“Spanish language variation and ethnic identity in New Mexico”
New Mexico is a part of the United States that borders on Mexico. A high proportion of the population of the state is Hispanic, estimated at 44.4% in 2007 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.Most of this Hispanic population claims to be Spanish speaking.
These Spanish speakers represent two major dialects. One dialect is concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the state and derives from early Hispanic settlement in the region beginning in 1598. This variety we label the Traditional Spanish of New Mexico. The other dialect, which we
call the Border Spanish of New Mexico, is represented primarily in the southern third of the state and is more closely aligned historically and linguistically with the Spanish speakers of northern Mexico.
This linguistic division is closely associated with differences in self-identification. For a complex of historical reasons involving social and political matters – particularly concerning the now economically dominant non-Hispanic, non-Indian minority in the state, the “Anglos” – the speakers of Traditional Spanish tend to reject identification with the more recently arriving speakers of Border Spanish. Though both populations typically label themselves as mexicano in Spanish, self-identification in English diverges strongly. Census data, for example, show that Spanish speakers from northern New Mexico prefer to call themselves “Hispanic” or “Spanish”
whereas those from the southern part of the state are likely to prefer “Mexican” or “Mexican American”.
Reference
Bills, Garland D., and Neddy A. Vigil. 2008. The Spanish language of New Mexico and southern
Colorado: A linguistic atlas. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
********************************************************
TAKE YOUR PICK. WHICH LANGUAGE IS IN BETTER SITUATION?