Research the linguistic past and present of California.

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Linguistics
DateLinguistic Past and Present of California
California is a state found in the coastal region of West Coast of North America. The geographical area coverage of the state is 163, 696 M2. America is one of the regions that received many visitors from Europe who came to explore the resources in the region during the colonial period. These groups of people came at a different time thus leaving their people in the region as permanent settlement homes. The Native Americans were the Indians who faced exploitation during the slave trade, with strong powers subjecting them to external foreign languages making the Native American language to get extinct. Therefore, the primary inhabitants of California were Indians who were later forced to abandon their languages by their colonial bosses (Golla, N.p).
In the 16th century, flags of Spain and England were seen in America. These European powers come with their people who settled in these areas bringing in new languages. For instance, Spain concentrated in Peru and Mexico with an extension of all parts that touched the Pacific Ocean. The implication of this European power in the area is the introduction of Spanish language which was commonly known as Hispanic languages. As time moved, Britain and other powers such as France moved their troops into the area with some of their people settling in the area thus making the area to have a mixture of languages. Spanish colonialism in California lasted for more than 155 years until the threat of Russians that was coming from the Alaska became imminent that the territory was in danger (LAYNE 163-164).

Most parts of California were colonized by Spain. However, other powers such as Britain took some portions thus introducing the English language in the area. Similarly, Russia colonized Sonoma coast of North California thus introducing their language too. The Chinese were also brought into California during the slavery period to work at cheap labor. Some of them remained in the region while the majority went back to China after the Central Pacific was built. The different groups of people that came in this region including the Africans from West Africa made the place to have a wide picture of settlers with different languages. However, the colonial power especially Britain did not tolerate the use of the native languages especially by the Indians thus making it hard for the indigenous languages to disappear with time. People were subjected to the English language. Time proved significant in changing the languages in California, and the rest of America after the country gained independence from Britain. Although some people who had entered the region as slaves went back as the case of Chines, some of them remained in the area living their languages in the region.
The current position of America is purely different from that of the past. California has many language speakers basing on the past events as well as the migration of people into America from other nations over time. However, the current figures reflect some existence of the past groups who entered the state in the colonial period. Spanish leads with 9.5 million individuals, Chinese having 926,918 people, followed by Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, and the Farsi, Persian (PRESS, par. 3). These are the linguistic groups that do not speak English fluently as they still use their primary languages. In the modern world, the majority of the population understand English since it is the most used language in the State as well as in the whole American country. The languages in California represent the influence of colonialism since the Indian culture was completely destructed with their children being forced to speak English in school so that they could not recognize their identity. Hispanic language remains the largest in the area basing their long-term existence in the region.
English dominate the most spoken languages in the California states since it acts as the universal language in the country. The Britain introduced their languages during their colonial rule thus forcing the locals to embrace it. The result of the actions is the language being the leading spoken language in the State as well as in the neighboring communities. Although there Indians in the region, only, few of them can remember their first language thus making the native language of the area to lose the control of the area. In the past two centuries, it was estimated that about 80 languages were spoken with the borders of California. The 80 languages fall under the 20 major languages that dominate the area. The State is enriched with diverse languages basing on the strategic position as well as its large size. Currently, there are no identical native speakers since English has been recognized and embraced by many people giving it the national and international picture. Even the Indians in the region have found themselves using English instead of other intruders in the region to use their language as they settle in California. Although the main spoken language in the state is English, there are many types of people from different races and communities worldwide such as Spain, Britain, India, and Africa as well as from Asia. California is, therefore, a state with diverse ethnicity.
Works Cited
Golla, Victor. California Indian Languages. 1st ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Print.
LAYNE, J. GREGG. “KINO’s HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF PIMERIA ALTA: A Contemporary Account Of The Beginnings Of California, Sonora And Arizona. Two Vols. In One Eusebio Francisco Kino Herbert Eugene Bolton”. The Quarterly: Historical Society of Southern California30.2 (1948): 163-164. Web.
PRESS, ASSOCIATED. “California’S Top 12 Languages After English – The Mercury News”. Mercurynews.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.