The Spanish language is the second-most commonly spoken language in California (after the English language), spoken by 28.18 percent (10,434,308) of the population in 2021. Californian Spanish (español californiano) is a set of varieties of Spanish spoken in California, including the historical variety known as Californio Spanish (español californio).

Spanish was first introduced to California in 1542 and has since become deeply entwined with California's cultural landscape and history.The Linguistic Isolation of Hispanic Students in California’s Public Schools - Spanish Speakers in California: A Historical Overview (Bernard R. Gifford and Guadalupe Valdés)Zócalo Public Square - Is California Losing Its Ability to Hablar Español?"Spanish is deeply intertwined in our society" - SFgate - 10.4 million people speak Spanish in California–here's how you can learn, too Spanish was the official administrative language in California through the Spanish and Mexican periods until 1848, when Alta California was ceded from Mexico to the United States following the U.S. Conquest of California. Early American governments in California protected the rights of Spanish speakers in the 1849 Constitution of California, but those constitutional protections were removed in 1879.

Demographics As of 2010, 28.46% (9,696,638) of California residents age 5 and older spoke Spanish at home as a primary language. California has the second highest concentration of Spanish speakers in the United States. Hispanic students are the largest student demographic in public schools in California, making up the majority of student populations in nearly 40% of school districts.California School Board Association - Latino Students in California’s K-12 Public Schools 21% of school students in California speak Spanish as their primary language.Public Policy Institute of California - California’s English Learner Students

Hispanic Californians make up the largest demographic group in California, accounting for nearly 40% of the population, or approximately 15,574,882 people.

History

Spanish era

The name of California has its origin in the Spanish epic Las sergas de Esplandián ("The Adventures of Esplandián"), written by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In Las sergas de Esplandián, California is described as being an island kingdom of warrior women ruled by a queen known as Califia. The name was applied to the modern region of the Californias in the 1530s, initially just referring to Baja California (which is today part of Mexico), but later expanded to cover Alta California (today's U.S. state of California).

The spoken history of the Spanish language in California began in 1542, when the first expeditions of the Spanish Empire came to Alta California. While Spanish expeditions continued throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, permanent Spanish colonization was only solidified following the Portolá expedition in 1769–70, which ultimately led to the founding of Spanish settlements across California, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. Expedition leader Gaspar de Portolá published his account of the voyage in Estracto de Noticias del Puerto de Monterrey, as did Spanish cartographer Miguel Costansó in his Diario Histórico de los Viages de Mar, y Tierra Hechos al Norte de la California, both published in 1770.

The creation of the Spanish missions in California led to the spread of the Spanish language into the lives of the Indigenous peoples of California which resided in the mission system. Franciscan missionaries served an important role in the proliferation of Spanish across communities in California, both through missionary-run education and through publishings of Franciscan padres, such as Francisco Palóu, who wrote various histories and essays on California, including his seminal Noticias de la Nueva California, written from 1767 to 1784.

Mexican era

In 1834, Agustín V. Zamorano became the first publisher in the history of California, opening a print shop in Monterey, mainly serving as the official press of the Mexican government in California. In 1835, Zamorano published the first book in the history of California, "Manifesto a la República Mejicana", written by Governor José Figueroa.

Previous literary pieces had been written in California, but had to be published elsewhere, such as Carlos Antonio Carrillo's 1831 "Exposición dirigida á la Cámara de Diputados del Congreso de la Unión". During the Mexican era, a number of the American and European immigrants settled in Alta California and acquired Mexican citizenship, in order to own land, often under the requirement that they learn to speak Spanish.

Early American era

Following the U.S. Conquest of California in 1847, the rights of Spanish speakers were initially guaranteed by the American interim government of California. The first Constitution of California, written in 1849 in both English and Spanish, guaranteed the official status of Spanish alongside English in government regulations and publications.Guadalupe Valdés et al., Developing Minority Language Resources: The Case of Spanish in California (Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2006), 28–29. One of the first acts of the first California Legislature of 1850 was to appoint a State Translator, who would be responsible for translating all state laws, decrees, documents, and orders into Spanish.

While Spanish initially continued to be used in schools and government following the Mexican Cession in 1848, the Anglophone American settlers migrating en masse to California during the California Gold Rush would eventually establish their language, culture, and law as dominant, displacing Spanish in the public sphere. By 1855, California declared that English would be the only medium of instruction in its schools, as a way of ensuring the social and political dominance of Anglos.

By the time California's second constitutional convention was convened in 1872, judicial proceedings in Hispanic majority areas of California were carried out in Spanish, and those areas had justices of the peace appointed who only spoke Spanish.LAist - How The 19th Century's 'English Only' Movement Sidelined Spanish In California, And The Legacy It Left The 1872 constitutional convention had no Spanish-speaking participants (compared to a significant portion of the 1849 convention) and ultimately voted 46–39 to revise the earlier clause so that all official proceedings would henceforth be published only in English.

Coinciding with the 1872 constitution's ratification and the rise of the nativist Workingmen's Party of California, Hispanic children throughout California started to be segregated into separate educational facilities known as "Mexican schools".National Park Service - Lesson 2: Education Inequalities in California Schools during World War II Despite the displacement of Spanish from the public sphere, most of California continued to be home to Spanish-speaking communities through the 19th and 20th centuries into the modern day.

Legal status

Spanish was the official administrative language of California through the Spanish and Mexican eras, until 1848. Following the U.S. Conquest of California and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the U.S. Government initially guaranteed the rights of the Spanish-speaking citizens in the Mexican Cession.

The first Constitution of California (1849) was written in both English and Spanish at the Monterey Constitutional Convention of 1849 and it enshrined the constitutional rights of Spanish speakers to use their language in government proceedings and mandated that all government documents be published in both English and Spanish.English and Spanish Share a Long History in California - Los Angeles Daily News (Andrew Edwards, 18 July 2010)

By 1870, the English-speaking American population had become the majority in California. The revised 1879 constitution stripped the rights of Spanish speakers and the official status of Spanish.Spanish Language Rights in California: Debates over the 1879 Constitution Under the new constitution, all official proceedings were to be conducted exclusively in English, a clause that remained in effect until 1966.

The growth of the English-only movement in the 20th century led to the passage of 1986 California Proposition 63, which constitutionally enshrined English as the only official language in California and ended Spanish language instruction in schools.Time - The Complicated History Behind California's Vote on Bilingual Education

The government of California has made efforts to expand its Spanish language capacity across a variety of agencies.Sacramento Bee - California wants Spanish speakers for these state government job Spanish is widely spoken through the state and many local governments and special districts offer services and publications in both English and Spanish.

The Judiciary of California provides live Spanish language interpretation in all 52 counties of California, across the Superior Courts of California and the California Courts of Appeal, as well as the Supreme Court of California.Court of California - Court Interpreters

Local governments

The redistricting processes of 225 (out of 482) cities in California are required to be conducted in both English and Spanish.Secretary of State of California - Language Requirements for City Redistricting

The city of Coachella is officially bilingual in English and Spanish, both in government publications and city council proceedings, with 90% of residents speaking Spanish.NBC Palm Springs - Breaking Down Language Barriers in Coachella City Council Meetings The city of Calexico is exploring becoming officially bilingual in English and Spanish.Calexico Chronicle - Idea to Make Calexico Meetings ‘Officially’ Bilingual Raises Ire

The city of San Francisco recognizes Spanish as one of its official languages, alongside English, Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese.

The city of Los Angeles mandates that all Los Angeles City Council meetings be served by a Spanish language interpreter.Public CEO - In Los Angeles City Hall, Español is in the Air LA council members regularly hold bilingual English/Spanish press conferences and often participate in Spanish language immersion courses in order to communicate directly with the high number of Spanish-speaking constituents.Los Angeles Daily News - Translation at LA City Council committee meetings still lacking, members say The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) requires that "high quality and inclusive community engagement must be conducted in English and Spanish",LADOT Departamento de Transporte de Los Ángeles Glosario Bilingüe de Términos de Transporte while the LA Department of City Planning requires all city planning materials to be published in both English and Spanish.American Planning Association - Language Access: Inclusive Planning in Los Angeles