Balkanization, Bilingualism, and Comparisons of Language Situations at Home and Abroad

Abstract

In this article, I address the “balkanization argument” made by conservatives for English-Only legislation and against bilingualism. The argument here is that the United States faces the sort of linguistic divisions found in other countries. Most frequently invoked are the cases of Canada and Belgium. The claim that the United States should take warning from these countries and avoid the promotion of bilingualism has been made by a number of people, including Linda Chavez, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Newt Gingrich. I argue that this claim is alarmist, at best. Data from Canada and Belgium indicate that the linguistic situations in these two countries are far too different to make reasonable comparisons to the United States. I make my case by using data of language shift, language demographics, and language prestige. These data indicate just how far the United States is from being on the same road toward linguistic division. This is not to say, however, that linguistic division cannot occur, and I point out the lessons we should draw from the cases of Canada, Belgium, and other multilingual nations.