week 9 Flashcards
languages of the european colonization of North America, early US states, WWI
- German and dutch especially in Pennsylvania
- peak German immigration mid 1700s
- public schooling first offered in German
- civil war: recruiting of soldiers in German
- WWI: ban on languages other than English in schools (directed at German)
implicit beliefs in US policy 1900s- 1950s
- English: language of freedom, justice, and other US values
- other languages are languages of tyranny and oppression and un-americanness (but sometimes used to recruit people)
History of language legislation in the United States in the 20th century—major tendencies
- nationality act of 1906 (codified in 1940) required oral knowledge of English for becoming a citizen
-1950: internal security act: added requirement of literacy in English - 1920s: isolationism, xenophobia
- 1958: USSR sputnik satellite, others beating USA
- 1958: National Defense Education Act $$ for study of foreign languages and areas
1967-8 Bilingual Education Act
- 1960s: civil rights, ethnic awareness
- bilingual education act: proposed to experiment with various kinds of bilingual education
- aimed to help areas with large non-english speaking minorities who were doing poorly in schools
- “ebonics”/AAE in 1997: does non-standard English count for bilingual education funding?
“English only” efforts and reactions to them
states with English designated only official language
Alaska, Hawaii, and South Dakota official languages
- build on belief that English is necessary for US unity and ideals
- English-only needed to maintain same dominant classes, also tied to racist anxieties about growing minorities
Controversies over linguistic diversity in US popular culture
Factors affecting Native American language and culture (in particular Blackfoot/Blackfeet)
- warfare
- confiscation and decimation of land and resources
- unintentional and intentional exposure to small pox
- eradication of language and culture through boarding schools
- conditions leading to shame and low prestige of Native American languages and cultures
Impact of Indian boarding schools.
Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded in 1879 by Captain Richard Pratt (US Army officer), whose goal was to: “kill the Indian, save the man”
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Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
Native American Languages Act of 1990
- It is the policy of the United states to
preserve protect, and promote the rights
and freedom of Native Americans to use,
practice and develop Native American
languages - 3 states: English and indigenous languages: Hawaii, Alaska, South Dakota
Native American Hand Sign languages
language revival
General statistics on language diversity & language death worldwide
- 86% of people speak a european or asian language
why do languages live and die
- prestige: shame/pride, correlation with poverty/wealth, institutional use
- practicality: numbers of speakers, opportunities
- politics and policies: official and unofficial implications of given language use
Factors shaping ethnolinguistic vitality or language death
status:
- economic
- social
- sociohistorical
- language (within, without)
demography:
- distribution (national territory, concentration, proportion)
- numbers (absolute, brith rate, mixed marriages, immigration, emigration)
institutional support:
- formal (mass media, education, government services)
- informal (industry, religion, culture)
