Language Policy and Identity Politics in the United States

Abstract

Language Policy and Identity Ronald Schmidt, Sr. Politics in the United States by Press, 2000, Philadelphia: Temple University 282 pp. Reviewed by Aneta Pavlenko Temple University In his influential study astutely noted that nations are on the rise and spread of nationalism, Anderson ( 1 99 1 imagined communities and that in modem times in, or, these conmiunities are conceived in language, not in blood (p. 145). Indeed, the decision about which language or languages the nation should be conceived more often, whether there should be more than one language, can be a source of a heated conflict and public unrest. Ronald Schmidt's Language Policy and Identity Politics in the United States offers a comprehensive discussion of the language policy conflict in the United States, where in the past three decades language has emerged as a highly emotional and volatile political issue. The text has two main goals: to examine all sides of the U.S. language policy conflict and to offer an approach to language policy which could both meet the criteria of justice for lan- guage minority members and ensure the common good for the whole country. The author also has an additional aim: to demonstrate that the conflict over language is not about language as such but about what kind of political community to and wish add identity. be (p. 183). From the perspective of applied linguistics, we are we can also that this study focuses on the role of language in the construction of national The book opens with an introduction and is then divided into three sections. The introduction examines the premises of two conflicting approaches to U.S. language policy: linguistic assimilationism and linguistic pluralism. The ranks of assimilationists include the supporters of the English Only and anti-bilingual edu- cation movements, such as well-known writer Richard Rodriguez or California billionaire Ron Unz, who spearheaded California's anti-bilingual education bill, Proposition 227. Assimilationists seek policies that will ensure the status of En- glish as the country's only official language. In contrast, pluralists, among them many prominent linguists, educators, and supporters of the English Plus move- ment, favor using the state to enhance the status and presence of minority lan- guages. The over the first section, entitled The Issues and the Context, sets the background for the discussion and traces the evolution of the U.S. language policy debates Language Policies in Conflict: An Over- view, outlines three key areas of disagreement between assimilationists and plu- last three decades. Chapter ralists: (1) educational policy for language minority children, (2) access to civil Issues in Applied Linguistics ISSN 1050-4273 Vol. 12 No. 2, Regents of the University of Califomia