Language Variety
Patterns in immigrant populations and implications in the United States
I was recently reminded that the United States has no officially declared national language. Still, over 30 states (including California) have adopted English-official legislation. The implications of these state laws vary; for example, California is English-official but allows civil services, like those at DMV, to be conducted in a number of languages. And, at the national level, voter ballots must be available in languages other than only English, based on local need.
Given the diversity of languages spoken in the United States, I wanted to learn more about the dynamics of language in cultural integration, how these change over generations, and policy that influences language use here, in California. In asking the following questions, I found some papers and articles to provide insight:
(1) How do we describe the ideal interaction of majority and minority languages?
a. Immigration and the American Realities of Assimilation and Multiculturalism
i. file:///C:/Users/MoBCooper/Downloads/Soc%20Forum%201999.pdf
ii. Read Sections “Assimilation and multiculturalism as analytic concepts and normative precepts” and “Language assimilation and bilingualism.”
iii. This paper frames the meaning and differences of “assimilation” and “multiculturalism” and applies it to language.
b. How to know the difference between multiculturalism and assimilation
ii. Defining these concepts, and an opinion on their relationship with “integration” from the perspective of a Heritage Foundation fellow.
(2) What are the generational changes in language use?
a. Language assimilation today: Bilingualism persists more than in the past, but English still dominates
i. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0j5865nk
ii. Read the summary and skim text
(3) In California, what type of language policy exists? Do these help us reach our “ideal interaction (discussed above)?
a. Proposition 58: English language education
i. http://www.lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=58&year=2016
ii. This webpage outlines the background and meaning of recently passed prop 58.
b. The return of bilingual education in California?
i. http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/26/498291619/the-return-of-bilingual-education-in-california
ii. At the time that prop 58 was put to a vote, prop 227 guided bilingual instruction in schools. This article discusses the opposing positions of these two propositions.
