Hispanicisation or Hispanisation[1] refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic. Hispanicization is illustrated by, but not limited to, spoken Spanish, production and consumption of Latin food, Spanish language music, and participation in Hispanic festivals and holidays.[2] In linguistic terms, hispanicisation is used as a synonym for Castilianisation (castellanización), the replacement of indigenous languages in the former Spanish colonies and the minority languages in Spain itself by Castilian, usually referred to as the Spanish language.
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According to the 2000 United States Census[3], about 75 % of all Hispanics spoke Spanish in the home. Hispanic retention rates are so high in parts of Texas and New Mexico and along the border because the percentage of Hispanics living there is also very high. Laredo, Texas; Chimayo, New Mexico; and Nogales, Arizona, for example, all have Hispanic populations greater than 90 percent. Furthermore, in these places Hispanics have always been the majority population.[4]
This refers to Spain's influence which began in the late 15th century and the Spanish Empire beginning in the colonisation of the Canary Islands in 1402 which is now part of Spain. Later the landing of Christopher Columbus in 1492 in the Caribbean then Central America and South America. All these countries were Hispanicised, however, there are still many people there who hold a culture that still has its origins in the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Until recently, castilianization has been official policy by the governments of many Latin American countries. Only recently programs of intercultural bilingual education have been introduced to a substantial extent.
The Philippines was ruled from Mexico City as a territory of New Spain, from 1565 to 1821 and as a province of Spain until 1898. Since the late 16th century, Spanish and Latin American culture has somewhat influenced the modern Filipino cultural landscape. Derived from Austronesian and Iberian influences, modern Filipino culture is described as a blend of Eastern and Western (mostly Spanish) traditions. Although most Filipinos speak an Austronesian language, the languages of the Philippines have many Spanish loanwords. Furthermore, many Filipinos speak a Spanish-based Creole known as Chavacano. This is also true with the Chamorro language in Guam, which lived side by side with Spanish for over 300 years. Many people consider these languages of the Pacific, Hispano-Austronesian languages, because of the heavy influence of Spanish on the language.