Editing New Mexico (section)

===Languages===

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Languages spoken in New Mexico
|-
! scope="row" | English only
| 64%
|-
! scope="row" | Spanish
| 28%
|-
! scope="row" | [[Navajo language|Navajo]]
| 4%
|-
! scope="row" | Others
| 4%
|-
|}

New Mexico ranks third after California and Texas in the number of multilingual residents.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sonnad|first=Nikhil|title=Against the odds, English is on the rise in four US states|url=https://qz.com/1220401/languages-in-the-us-monolingual-english-speakers-are-increasing-in-four-us-states/|access-date=2021-07-23|website=Quartz|date=March 2, 2018|language=en|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723232146/https://qz.com/1220401/languages-in-the-us-monolingual-english-speakers-are-increasing-in-four-us-states/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[2010 U.S. census]], 28.5% of the population age{{spaces}}5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 3.5% speak [[Navajo language|Navajo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=35&mode=state_tops |title=MLA Language Map Data Center: Most spoken languages in New Mexico |publisher=Mla.org |date=July 17, 2007 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809135355/http://www.mla.org/map_data_results%26state_id%3D35%26mode%3Dstate_tops |archive-date=August 9, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some speakers of [[New Mexican Spanish]] are descendants of pre-18th century Spanish [[settler]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/spanishlanguagei00espirich/spanishlanguagei00espirich_djvu.txt |title=The Spanish language in New Mexico and southern Colorado |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511123624/http://www.archive.org/stream/spanishlanguagei00espirich/spanishlanguagei00espirich_djvu.txt |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Contrary to popular belief, New Mexican Spanish is not an archaic form of 17th-century [[Castilian Spanish]]; though some archaic elements exist, linguistic research has determined that the dialect "is neither more Iberian nor more archaic" than other varieties spoken in the Americas.<ref>Bills, Garland D. and Neddy A. Vigil (2008). ''The Spanish Language of New Mexico and Southern Colorado: A Linguistic Atlas''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 14. {{ISBN|978-0826345493}}</ref><ref>Rubén Cobos. A Dictionary of New Mexico & Southern Colorado Spanish. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 2003</ref> Nevertheless, centuries of isolation during the colonial period insulated the New Mexican dialect from "standard" Spanish, leading to the preservation of older vocabulary as well as its own innovations.<ref name="Atlas retentions">{{Harvnb|Bills|Vigil|2008|pp=51–74|loc=Ch.5 "Retentions"}}</ref><ref name="Atlas innovations">{{Harvnb|Bills|Vigil|2008|pp=123–151|loc=Ch.8 "El Nuevo México"}}</ref>

Besides Navajo, which is also spoken in Arizona, several other [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Native American languages]] are spoken by smaller groups in New Mexico, most of which are endemic to the state. Native New Mexican languages include [[Mescalero-Chiricahua language|Mescalero Apache]], [[Jicarilla language|Jicarilla Apache]], [[Tewa language|Tewa]], [[Southern Tiwa language|Southern Tiwa]], [[Northern Tiwa]], [[Jemez language|Towa]], [[Keres language|Keres]] (Eastern and Western), and [[Zuni language|Zuni]]. Mescalero and Jicarilla Apache are closely related [[Southern Athabaskan languages]], and both are also related to Navajo. Tewa, the Tiwa languages, and Towa belong to the [[Tanoan languages|Kiowa-Tanoan]] language family, and thus all descend from a [[Language family|common ancestor]]. Keres and Zuni are [[language isolate]]s with no relatives outside of New Mexico.

====Official language====
New Mexico's original state constitution of 1911 required all laws be published in both English and Spanish for twenty years after ratification;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crawford |first1=John |title=Language loyalties: a source book on the official English controversy |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=1992 |page=62}}</ref> this requirement was renewed in 1931 and 1943,<ref name="Cobarrubia">{{cite book |last1=Cobarrubias |first1=Juan |last2=Fishman |first2=Joshua A |title=Progress in Language Planning: International Perspectives |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1983 |page=195}}</ref> with some sources stating the state was officially bilingual until 1953.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Perea|first1=Juan F.|title=Los Olvidados: On the Making of Invisible People|publisher=New York University Law Review, 70(4), 965–990}}</ref> Nonetheless, the current constitution does not declare any language "official".<ref name="const">[http://www.sos.state.nm.us/uploads/FileLinks/493231b9f2fc45808a19dbb2c0cf6bec/NMConst2010Eng.pdf ''Constitution of the State of New Mexico''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102182933/http://www.sos.state.nm.us/uploads/FileLinks/493231b9f2fc45808a19dbb2c0cf6bec/NMConst2010Eng.pdf |date=January 2, 2014 }} Adopted January 21, 1911.</ref> While Spanish was permitted in the legislature until 1935, all state officials are required to have a good knowledge of English; consequently, some analysts argue that New Mexico cannot be considered a bilingual state, since not all laws are published in both languages.<ref name="Cobarrubia"/>

However, the state legislature remains constitutionally empowered to publish laws in English and Spanish and to appropriate funds for translation. Whenever a [[referendum]] to approve an amendment to the New Mexican constitution is held, the ballots must be printed in both English and Spanish.<ref>New Mexico Code 1-16-7 (1981).</ref> Certain legal notices must be published in both English and Spanish as well, and the state maintains a list of newspapers for Spanish publication.<ref>New Mexico Code 14-11-13 (2011).</ref>

With regard to the judiciary, witnesses and defendants have the right to testify in either of the two languages, and monolingual speakers of Spanish have the same right to be considered for jury duty as do speakers of English.<ref name="const"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Calvin A. |title=Our New Mexico: A Twentieth Century History |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |location=Albuquerque |year=2006 |page=23}}</ref> In public education, the state has the constitutional obligation to provide bilingual education and Spanish-speaking instructors in school districts where the majority of students are [[Hispanophone]].<ref name="const"/> The constitution also provides that all state citizens who speak neither English nor Spanish have a right to vote, hold public office, and serve on juries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Constitution of New Mexico|url=https://nmonesource.com/nmos/c/en/item/5916/index.do#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc77676517/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgHYOA2HgVgCMHAJQAaZNlKEIARUSFcAT2gByFaIiEwuBHIXKANpgDmiMMcIatOkAGU8pAELKASgFEAMm4BqAQQByAMJuoqRgAEbQmtoIwsJAA|access-date=2021-07-23|website=nmonesource.com|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723232137/https://nmonesource.com/nmos/c/en/item/5916/index.do#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc77676517/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgHYOA2HgVgCMHAJQAaZNlKEIARUSFcAT2gByFaIiEwuBHIXKANpgDmiMMcIatOkAGU8pAELKASgFEAMm4BqAQQByAMJuoqRgAEbQmtoIwsJAA|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1989, New Mexico became the first of only four states to officially adopt the [[English Plus]] resolution, which supports acceptance of non-English languages.<ref name="JosephJE">{{cite book|title=Language and Politics|last1=Joseph|first1=John Earl|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2006|page=63}}</ref> In 1995, the state adopted an official bilingual song, "[[New Mexico – Mi Lindo Nuevo México]]".<ref name="Blue Book State Symbols">{{cite book|url=http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-bluebook.html|title=New Mexico Blue Book 2007–2008|publisher=New Mexico Secretary of State|chapter=State Symbols|access-date=January 3, 2009|chapter-url=http://www.sos.state.nm.us/BlueBook2008/StateSymbols.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081129051906/http://www.sos.state.nm.us//sos-bluebook.html|archive-date=November 29, 2008}}</ref>{{Rp|75,81}} In 2008, New Mexico was the first state to officially adopt a [[Navajo language|Navajo]] textbook for use in public schools.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Mexico first state to adopt Navajo textbook|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25943277|newspaper=NBC news|date=July 31, 2008|access-date=June 25, 2022|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226135831/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25943277|url-status=live}}</ref>