The author of this chapter argues that the failure of Spanish language education policies in the United States to educate both Latinos and non-Latinos has to do with the clash between three positions--(a) the English language, characterized by U.S. educational authorities as the unique and powerful lingua franca; (b) the Spanish language, as…

A framework for discussing the issues associated with language policy in the United States is offered, highlighting the history of the country's diverse language groups and language policies. It is proposed that language politics, and often the policies themselves, reflect the social relations between groups within a society. The history of…

A discussion of the movement to make English the official language of the United States, by constitutional amendment, looks for a hidden agenda among its advocates. The history of and debate over the amendment in Congress and around the country are reviewed, drawing from legislative texts, speeches, essays, media commentary, and related research.…

This book examines the ways in which people belonging to different language and cultural communities live together in the same political community, and how political and structural tensions arise to divide them along language lines. It analyzes the historical background and recent controversy over language in the United States, then compares the…

This volume, published on the occasion of the American Bicentennial, is based on a revision of a 1963 German-language publication describing and analyzing the phenomenon of cultural and linguistic pluralism in American society. It is part of a series on bilingual education, intended to inform the public about how people have used bilingual…

Discusses the teaching of European languages and less commonly taught languages at all educational levels in Australia. Reference is made to multilingualism and language instruction in other countries. (AM)

This yearbook presents a series of articles on Canadian multicultural issues. In the first article, "Panem et Circenses? Ten Years of Multicultural Policy in Canada," Werner Stephan examines criticisms of Canadian multicultural policy and suggests the country has not found a satisfactory answer to what multiculturalism is or should be,…

This collection includes the following essays on language and politics in North America: "Respecting the Citizens: Reflections on Language Policy in Canada and the United States" (Colin H. Williams); "The Politics of Language in Canada and the United States: Explaining the Differences" (Ronald Schmidt, Sr.); "Demographic…