The history of the English language in Puerto Rico is a decidedly peculiar one, characterized by incessant conflict and chaotic change. English has long been viewed on the island as both a tool of liberation and an instrument of oppression. Children are told from the earliest grades that English will be vital for their educational and professional advancement, while they are also cautioned that learning it too well may endanger their Puerto Rican identity. Fostering English is linked in the minds of many Puerto Ricans with assimilationism, while defending Spanish is the hallmark of nationalism. Consequently, overt popular support of English acquisition coexists with covert popular resistance, complicating even further the teaching task.

        Reunido en Oviedo el Jurado correspondiente al Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras 1991, integrado por D. Antonio Gallego Morell, D. Domingo García Sabell, D. José María Martínez Cachero, D. Arturo Uslar Pietri, D. Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, D. Antonio Vilanova, presidido por D. Camilo José Cela y actuando de secretario D. Emilio Alarcos Llorach, acuerdan por unanimidad y en primera votación, caso sin precedente en la historia de este galardón, conceder el Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras 1991 al Pueblo De Puerto Rico, cuyas autoridades representativas, con decisión ejemplar, han declarado el Español único idioma oficial de su país.