Louisiana is a Southern state of the United States of America. It uses the U.S. postal abbreviation LA. The state is bordered to the west by the state of Texas, to the north by Arkansas, to the east by the state of Mississippi, and to the south by the Gulf of Mexico. Among the states, Louisiana has a unique culture, owing to its French colonial heritage. While the state has no declared "official language", its law recognizes both English and French. Today, English is by far the main language of everyday life, but traces of French survive in local dialects.