LING 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Political Question
English Only Movements
Important: the US has no legally defined official language (neither does the UK). Some states
do, but not the federal government
English as a national language vs. English only
• English as a national language:
o Means defining an official national language for the US
o All government meetings and documents would be required to be in English
o Documents could be translated into other languages when helpful, translators could
be provided when helpful, public education could be bilingual when helpful
o There is no scientific problem with English as a national language
• This is a social/ political question, not a linguistic question
• 80% of the US is monolingual in English (only speaks English)
• Only 1.5% of the population doesn't speak English at all
• Because of this, English is the de facto official language of the US- all
government meetings and documents are already in English
• While sociologists might be able to study the effect national languages have on
groups, privilege, society, etc., linguists cannot comment much on it
• English-only:
o Defining a single language for the US government
o All government meetings and documents would be required to be in English
o No documents would be translated into other languages. No translators would be
provided for non-native speakers. No public education would be bilingual
o There IS a scientific problem with English only
• These movements deny those who are not native speakers of English access to
government info, services, and participation
• Non-native speakers are forced to use their second language understand of
English to interact and participate
• Because of the critical period, immigrants who come to the US after puberty
will not be as good at English as they are their native language
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LING 1010 Full Course Notes
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