What Official French in Quebec Can Teach Us about Official English in the United States

What Official French in Quebec Can Teach Us about Official English in the United States Helene Ossipov Arizona State University The idea of declaring English the official language of the United States is gaining popularity. Several states have already declared English to be their official language, among them Florida, Indiana, and California, and the issue will be voted on in several more, including New York. There has never been an official language in the United States. English is by far the dominant language however, and its status seems to have come about by tradition and history. English is the language ofbusiness, the courts, government, and education . However, the United States is not a monolingual country: there are many enclaves of Spanish speakers throughout the country , especially in the Southwest and in Florida. French is still spoken in parts of Louisiana, and Polish and other Slavic languages can be heard in an area stretching from New York City to Chicago. There are numerous indigenous languages that are viable, especially in Alaska and Hawaii and on the Indian reservations. Furthermore, many large cities have areas where immigrants of various ethnic groups settle and still communicate in their languages . The country has existed for well over two hundred years without an official language. So why is there such a push now for declaring English the official language ofthe United States? In recent years, two organizations have attempted to make English the official language of the country by means of a constitutional amendment. Having failed in these attempts, they then embarked on a state-by-state strategy, trying to make English the official language of each state, and therefore, by default, of the country. The two groups, although they have the same goals, differ in philosophy . English First! is the more polemic group, attacking what it perceives to be "radical Hispanic" groups that threaten the unity of the country by their demands for bilingualism and biculturalism (Amorose 265-67). U.S. English, founded in 1983 by the late Senator S. I. Hayakawa, is an educational and political group that favors multilingualism and multiculturalism in private, but opposes government support of these. The position of this group is that English is the unifying force of this country, and that the language is being 197 198Rocky Mountain Review eroded by the advance of bilingual education and bilingual ballots. U.S. English sees these as unnecessary: bilingual education because it is an inefficient way to learn English, and bilingual ballots because literacy in English is a requirement for naturalization1 (Diamond). Before we make a decision as radical as the declaration of an official language, it makes sense to see the result of such a declaration in a neighboring country. Canada has two official languages: French and English. In Quebec, however, there is only one official language, French. Examining the experience and history of language laws in that province may guide us in our own quest for an official language, and indeed, may help us decide what we really need or want. In Quebec, the push for making French the sole official language of the province, even though English and French are both official languages at the federal level, resulted from awakening nationalism and legitimate fears of assimilation into North America's dominant anglophone culture. In the United States, the reasons given for having an official language are not so clear-cut, though two main arguments stand out: on the one hand, the belief that an official language will help immigrants assimilate into the dominant culture, and on the other hand, the belief that immigrants are resisting assimilation and thereby diminishing America's character as a melting pot. Quebec is a province of about 6 million people, 5 million of whom are francophone. Most of Canada's French-speaking citizens live in that province. Yet even though French speakers are in the majority in Quebec, they are a minority outside of the province, so that the French-speakers see themselves as a small island in a sea of North American English. After the British gained control of Quebec in 1759, the French were allowed to keep their religion and language. They retreated into the countryside, concentrating their energies...