The Language Legislation in Canada
Whereas the language legislation in Canada has been quite consistent with respect to the establishment and protection of both English and French as the official national languages, James Crawford asserts that American efforts have focused largely on the state level prohibition of particular languages.
Examples include California's early revision of its state constitution in 1879, for the purposes of eliminating Spanish language rights and the various state bans on the public use of the German language during World War I.
All attempts to mandate English as the sole official language of the United States have so far failed.
These include a bill attempting to designate "American" as the national language in 1923 and the English Language Constitutional Amendment proposed in 1981 by the late Senator S.
I.
Hayakawa.
Today, almost every new Congress is faced with at least one attempt to revisit the subject.
Frustrated by the failure of these legislative proposals, members of the English-only movement have formed organizations to lobby more strongly for them.
They have focused their attention on making English the official language of government agencies.
A bill of this sort was approved by the House of Representatives in 1996 but was rejected by the Senate.
Much of the advocacy for designating English as the official language has now turned to the states.
U.
S.
English, Inc.
, attests that some 30 states have designated English as their official language, with almost half of this legislation being enacted after 1990.
Although the operant language policies in the two neighboring countries are vastly different, it should be acknowledged that there are equally different contexts with respect to the historical, social, political, and economic circumstances that frame the language policy dynamics.
Understanding these differences helps shed light on the U.
S.
debate about how best to transform non-English-speaking populations into fluent English speakers who are willing to abandon their respective heritage languages.
According some authors, three of the differences between these countries are especially relevant to the language debate.
First, the United States has traditionally promoted the idea of a single national identity, while Canada has maintained two nations with distinct cultures, religions, and languages from the outset.
This dual national identity has helped preserve the use of French as an important language even though it predominates in only one province, albeit the largest in population.
In addition, the language demographic distribution in Canada has remained fairly stable over the years, with the majority of the French-speaking population residing in Québec province.
This shared heritage has resulted in a unified, although geographically separate, sense of purpose; this is uncommon in the United States, given not only the variety of native languages spoken by immigrant students but also the number of different cultural backgrounds represented in the early history of the country.
For example, while the land purchased from France, known as the Louisiana Territory, was huge, it was sparsely populated and few French speakers lived outside of the city of New Orleans.
Similarly, whereas half of Mexico was annexed by the United States in 1848, that vast expanse was also sparsely populated by Spanish speakers.
Examples include California's early revision of its state constitution in 1879, for the purposes of eliminating Spanish language rights and the various state bans on the public use of the German language during World War I.
All attempts to mandate English as the sole official language of the United States have so far failed.
These include a bill attempting to designate "American" as the national language in 1923 and the English Language Constitutional Amendment proposed in 1981 by the late Senator S.
I.
Hayakawa.
Today, almost every new Congress is faced with at least one attempt to revisit the subject.
Frustrated by the failure of these legislative proposals, members of the English-only movement have formed organizations to lobby more strongly for them.
They have focused their attention on making English the official language of government agencies.
A bill of this sort was approved by the House of Representatives in 1996 but was rejected by the Senate.
Much of the advocacy for designating English as the official language has now turned to the states.
U.
S.
English, Inc.
, attests that some 30 states have designated English as their official language, with almost half of this legislation being enacted after 1990.
Although the operant language policies in the two neighboring countries are vastly different, it should be acknowledged that there are equally different contexts with respect to the historical, social, political, and economic circumstances that frame the language policy dynamics.
Understanding these differences helps shed light on the U.
S.
debate about how best to transform non-English-speaking populations into fluent English speakers who are willing to abandon their respective heritage languages.
According some authors, three of the differences between these countries are especially relevant to the language debate.
First, the United States has traditionally promoted the idea of a single national identity, while Canada has maintained two nations with distinct cultures, religions, and languages from the outset.
This dual national identity has helped preserve the use of French as an important language even though it predominates in only one province, albeit the largest in population.
In addition, the language demographic distribution in Canada has remained fairly stable over the years, with the majority of the French-speaking population residing in Québec province.
This shared heritage has resulted in a unified, although geographically separate, sense of purpose; this is uncommon in the United States, given not only the variety of native languages spoken by immigrant students but also the number of different cultural backgrounds represented in the early history of the country.
For example, while the land purchased from France, known as the Louisiana Territory, was huge, it was sparsely populated and few French speakers lived outside of the city of New Orleans.
Similarly, whereas half of Mexico was annexed by the United States in 1848, that vast expanse was also sparsely populated by Spanish speakers.
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