Culture of California - Language

Language

English is the primary language of California's inhabitants. Spanish is a prevalent second language all over the state.

California English is a dialect of the English language spoken within California. California is home to a highly diverse populace, and this is reflected in California's dialect of English, which integrates words from many other languages, especially Spanish. As is the case of English spoken in any state, not all features of California English are used by all speakers in the state, and not all features are restricted in use only to the state. However, there are some linguistic features which can be identified as either originally or predominantly Californian.

As the nation's major motion picture, and television entertainment center, Hollywood has influenced English throughout the world, by making English speakers of many dialects very visible and by making known new terms and new meanings. The media outlets and entertainment industry based in California also popularizes the California English accent and dialect to the rest of the country and the world.

The official language of California has been English since the passage of Proposition 63 in 1986. However, many state, city, and local government agencies print official public documents in Spanish and other languages since Proposition 63 doesn't regulate how governments use other languages.