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84-395: 18°27′47″N 66°5′18″W / 18.46306°N 66.08833°W / 18.46306; -66.08833 The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( Spanish : Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico ) is the highest court of Puerto Rico , having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law . The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of
168-532: A politicized and often controversial process. The Governor of Puerto Rico usually appoints someone who is affiliated with his own political party . For example, during his sixteen years as Governor, Luis Muñoz Marín appointed only one statehooder, Rafael Hernández Matos to the court, despite the fact that statehooders represented the largest political minority in Puerto Rico. During the four years of divided partisan control of government between 2005 and 2009, when
252-443: A pro bono legal services program, offers life insurance to its members and makes its meeting rooms available to community organizations. The association is managed by a governing board, which has met regularly for over 130 years. The association holds its annual convention in the month of September, when its president and board of directors are elected by those physically present. Legislation has been approved, converting it into
336-674: 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. Puerto Rico Bar Association The Bar Association of Puerto Rico (BAPR) or Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (CAPR)
420-588: 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
504-517: 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
588-476: 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
672-471: 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
756-608: A politically neutral position, so as not to offend its members or taint the institution's honor by involving itself in petty politics. The bar's compulsory membership has also come under intense scrutiny because of concerns that it violates the First Amendment . In 2009, the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly passed a law mandating that membership in the Bar Association would thereafter be voluntary, and although
840-498: 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
924-510: A provision that the number may be altered, though only by petition of the Court itself. This provision has been used four times in Court history. Immediately after the Constitution's ratification, the Court asked for two additional judges. During the early 1960s, the Court once again petitioned for the addition of two more judges, arguing that there was a case backlog on its docket. Subsequently, during
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#17328484709261008-599: 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
1092-518: 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
1176-470: A voluntary membership organization. Other bills have been filed to allow the election of the president by mail-in referendum, rather than an assembly where physical presence is required. Many criticize the bar because, notwithstanding its compulsory nature, it shows an activist tendency towards political matters, openly supporting specific candidates during elections. They believe that a compulsory, government-sponsored institution such as itself should maintain
1260-416: 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
1344-498: Is also the administrator of the Judicial Branch of Puerto Rico. Then Associate Justice Oronoz was confirmed in 2016 becoming the first lesbian and third woman to perside the court. This also marked the point in which four female justices constituted the largest number of women in history to serve on the court simultaneously. The realignment on the court has led to several significant court decisions. In Suarez Caceres vs CEE ,
1428-449: 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
1512-740: 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
1596-721: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, 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
1680-806: 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
1764-499: Is the bar association of Puerto Rico . It is the oldest professional association in Puerto Rico, and among the oldest bar associations in the world. The Bar Association of Puerto Rico is to be distinguished from the Puerto Rican Bar Association , which is a private association. Although Puerto Rico was part of Spain, a country with associations of lawyers as early as the 16th century, it was not until May 8, 1840, that
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#17328484709261848-804: 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
1932-652: The First Circuit Court reversed Domínguez's decision and found that questions on the electoral process of Puerto Rico are matters reserved for the Puerto Rico local court system, headed by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. 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
2016-546: The Governor of Puerto Rico . During much of the 20th century, the court system in Puerto Rico had consisted of Municipal Courts , District Courts , and the Supreme Court. Cases could be appealed from Municipal Courts to commonwealth District Courts. From the commonwealth District Courts cases were then appealed to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Municipal and District courts have existed in Puerto Rico since at least
2100-587: 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 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 ;
2184-486: The Popular Democratic Party , until February 2009 when, due to the accumulation of unfilled vacancies, pro-statehood Governor Luis Fortuño was able to fill three vacancies. Added to one Justice already on the Court, appointed by another pro-statehood Governor, the justices appointed by statehooders became a majority in the Court. Four women have been appointed justices since 1952; one of them, Miriam Naveira ,
2268-622: The Senate . One of the justices serves as Chief Justice; the remaining members are designated Associate Justices. Unlike the Supreme Court of the United States, the justices of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court do not serve for life, as the Puerto Rico Constitution requires that all judges must retire upon reaching age 70. Although the Constitution of Puerto Rico provides for the Court to be composed of five justices, it also contains
2352-557: 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)
2436-508: 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
2520-456: The Supreme Court of the United States only pursuant to a writ of certiorari , when an important question of federal law is involved. Conflicts between the Puerto Rico courts and the federal court do arise from time to time. According to the 1952 Constitution of Puerto Rico, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is only for laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. However, on several occasions
2604-621: The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has taken jurisdiction on cases having to do with Puerto Rican law. In 2016, the US Supreme Court decided in the case of Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle that on the point of double jeopardy , Puerto Rico was not sovereign; thus it could not charge someone with crimes that the person had already been tried for by the United States. A highly controversial instance occurred in November 2004, when
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2688-490: The United States Supreme Court , unless an adequate and independent ground for the decision based in Puerto Rico commonwealth law is also present. The Court has the power of judicial review and its decision are considered binding precedent within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico also regulates the practice of law in Puerto Rico. The term of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court begins on
2772-590: 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 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
2856-493: The 1952 Constitution of Puerto Rico . It is the only appellate court required by the Constitution. All other courts are created by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico . However, since Puerto Rico is under United States sovereignty, there is also a Federal District Court for the island. The justices (currently eight, with one vacancy) are appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico and confirmed by majority vote by
2940-487: The 1970s the Court asked for its number to be reduced back to seven members, arguing that the backlog had been attended to. Finally, in 2010 a 4–3 majority of the justices petitioned the Legislative Assembly to once again increase the Court's membership to nine. This decision has generated controversy since it is the first time that such a request has been done without unanimity from the justices. The jurisdiction of
3024-474: The 19th century. When the United States invaded the island, it set to reorganize the judicial system. The U.S. military regime in Puerto Rico promulgated Order 118 of 1899, by which the system of Criminal Courts and Courts of First Instance and Investigation were replaced by five district courts in San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Arecibo and Humacao. Appointments to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico have traditionally been
3108-404: 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,
3192-574: 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
3276-460: 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 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
3360-461: The Bar Association filed suit to challenge the law, the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals upheld the law's constitutionality; subsequently, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court each decided in succession not to hear the case on the merits, which had the effect of leaving intact the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals' ruling upholding the law. More recently, on July 28, 2014,
3444-639: 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
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3528-691: 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
3612-529: 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
3696-530: The Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly passed a new statute that, among other things, repealed the 2009 statute and reinstated the requirement of mandatory bar membership. On the same day that the law was signed by the Governor, a local senator filed a lawsuit in the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance challenging the law's constitutionality. Two days later, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court granted the senator's motion for intra-jurisdictional certification and agreed to take up
3780-513: The Puerto Rico Supreme Court, sometimes attempting to impose its own interpretations of Puerto Rico's civil law legal norms despite the Boston-based court's unfamiliarity with Puerto Rico jurisprudence, until a series of opinions by United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes instructed that the Puerto Rico Supreme Court's interpretations were not to be overturned by the federal appeals court unless they were "manifestly wrong." With
3864-473: The Royal Court of Puerto Rico issued an order authorizing the establishment of a Bar Association there. There were at the time 22 lawyers practicing in Puerto Rico. Its first bar examination was given on May 13, 1841. The Bar Association published the first book of the law of the Royal Court of Puerto Rico in 1857. Bar operations were suspended when, following the surrender of Puerto Rico to the United States at
3948-531: 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 the term castellano to define the official language of
4032-538: The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico declared that all ballots should be counted during the Puerto Rican general election, 2004 . The New Progressive Party brought the matter to the Federal Court and claimed that some of the ballots were applied. Federal Judge Daniel R. Domínguez took jurisdiction of the case, in a ruling that would effectively have nullified the decision of the Supreme Court. However, on December 15, 2004,
4116-488: The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is defined by the Constitution and the laws of Puerto Rico. In general, the jurisdictional structure parallels that of the state Supreme Courts in the continental United States. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts to interpret federal laws, unless the Supremacy Clause requires otherwise. Judgments that stand on federal law grounds may be reviewed by
4200-502: 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
4284-637: The United States and is the highest state court and the court of last resort in Puerto Rico . Article V of the Constitution of Puerto Rico vests the judicial power in the Supreme Court, which by nature forms the judicial branch of the government of Puerto Rico . The Supreme Court holds its sessions in San Juan . The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico was established by the Foraker Act in 1900 and maintained in
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#17328484709264368-451: 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
4452-672: 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
4536-495: 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
4620-404: 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
4704-459: The court overruled a previous court decision that required that a "None of the Above" option be included in political status plebiscites. That option obtained an absolute majority of votes in the 1998 political status plebiscite. A 4–3 majority amended Rule 5 of the court's regulations to enable the most senior judge on the majority side of every case to determine the member of the Court that would write
4788-630: The end of the Spanish–American War , the Military Government suppressed the profession of Attorney. After the Statute of the Bar Association of Puerto Rico was restored, debate ensued among Bar members as to the correct structure of the Bar, due to the transition from Spanish colony to Commonwealth of the United States. The Puerto Rico Bar Association changed in 1911 to be a voluntary association similar to that in many States. In 1932, following lengthy discussion,
4872-401: The first Monday of October and ends in the last week of June of the following year. However, during the recess months of July through September, an alternating panel of three justices are allowed to hear cases and their decisions are considered binding precedent. However, in order for any law passed by the Legislative Assembly to be declared unconstitutional, it requires the votes of a majority of
4956-661: 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
5040-466: 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
5124-501: The governorship was occupied by commonwealther Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and the Senate presidency was held by statehooder Kenneth McClintock , despite the 2005 retirement of Associate Justice Baltasar Corrada del Rio , the death of Associate Justice Jaime Fuster in 2007 and the 2008 retirement of Associate Justice Francisco Rebollo, no appointments were made. For over half a century, the Court has been dominated by justices affiliated with
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#17328484709265208-454: 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
5292-450: 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 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
5376-423: 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,
5460-628: 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
5544-413: The majority opinion, which is the practice in the Supreme Court of the United States . Previously, the Chief Justice, even when on the minority side of a case, assigned the writing of the opinion of the Court. From 1915 to 1961, decisions of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court could be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit . In earlier years, the First Circuit frequently reversed
5628-498: 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
5712-400: The official bar records of Puerto Rico licensed attorneys. The Chief Justice is the presiding officer of the Supreme Court, and amongst its functions it directs the administration of the different courts, chairs the Constitutional Redistricting Board which revises Puerto Rico's senatorial and representative districts after every decennial census, and presides at the impeachment trial of
5796-508: 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 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
5880-481: 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 ,
5964-416: The sides have ended their argument, each justice has ten minutes (in order of seniority) to ask questions to each side. Justices may decide to yield the balance of their time to one of their colleagues. Because several Federal judges have voluntarily withdrawn from the Puerto Rico Bar Association and was converted by statute into a voluntary membership organization, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico maintains
6048-413: The standard of review so limited, and especially after Puerto Rico attained Commonwealth status under the 1952 Constitution, the route for appeals was deemed anachronistic and was repealed in 1961 providing Puerto Rico with a judicial state-federal court structure equal to that of States. Today, decisions of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court are as final as those of any state supreme court and are reviewable by
6132-592: 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
6216-444: 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,
6300-623: 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
6384-567: The total membership of the Court, therefore, a three-justice panel may not hear constitutional challenges to laws passed by the Legislature. The justices decide whether or not to hear oral arguments for the case. If the case is controversial or carries high public interest, an oral argument may be scheduled, although oral arguments were rare under Chief Justice Hernández Denton. When oral argument occurs, each side has twenty-five minutes to state its respective claims and five minutes for rebuttal. After
6468-468: The voluntary association was converted to a mandatory association; since then all practicing attorneys must be members in order to practice law in the United States territory of Puerto Rico , with a number of exceptions, e.g. Federal judges may voluntarily withdraw from the organization. The Bar Association, headquartered in the Miramar section of San Juan, Puerto Rico operates a number of programs, including
6552-581: 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 the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
6636-499: 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 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
6720-651: Was Chief Justice for a period of one year. Only one Afro–Puerto Rican , Justice Erick Kolthoff , has served in the Court. He is also the Court's only Protestant . Liana Fiol Matta , appointed by Gov. Alejandro García Padilla , was the second woman to hold the post of Chief Justice , succeeding Federico Hernández Denton , who was appointed in 2004 by Governor Sila Calderón . Previously, he had served as an Associate Justice from 1985 to 2004. In such capacity, Chief Justice Hernández Denton swore in Governors Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and Luis Fortuño. The Chief Justice
6804-630: 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
6888-604: 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
6972-713: 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")
7056-462: 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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