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Miranda, a Spanish-speaking state doesn't fit in at all. That was my point.
I don't see Puerto Ricans giving up Spanish for English only on the island.
I think of my cousin. She is twenty seven years old. She is a good looking puertorriquena with long curly brown red hair, blue eyes, African features, white skin and a college degree from El Sagrado Corazon. She has studied English since kindergarten and has a father who lives in the states. She could move to the states at anytime. But she doesn't feel comfortable speaking English, has all her friends and family in Puerto Rico and found a job with Homeland Security on the island. She only likes brand name clothing, and yet her upper crust boyfriend left her recently due to her not coming from the 'best' family. He came from money and she did not. Even though she is educated, won beauty contests and is conventionally very attractive in every way.
The younger Puerto Ricans who are island raised don't really want to leave if they can find work on the island. If they can't find work. They leave. It is basically economic. It has very little to do with wanting to be culturally GRINGO. Many mainland Americans are so ethnocentric and just plain tunnel visioned that they don't get that Miranda. I don't know why.
The truth is economic. Period. Puerto Ricans want statehood for the dollar signs. And in today's xenophobic USA that doesn't cut it. Puerto Ricans are going to have to want to speak English and be like the Iowans and so on. CULTURALLY. Something they can't do because the IOWANS and the ENGLISH ONLY SPEAKERS are going to have to be at least 45% of the Puerto Rican residents to make some kind of an impact. Otherwise. No cigar. If 90% of the island continues to prefer Spanish over English the possibility of assimilation will be slow or negligable at best.
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