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Language Policy in the U.S.: Debating Official Language
Mertová, Viktorie ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Zukerstein, Jaroslav (referee)
U. S. does not have an official language even though the country is home to the highest number of English speakers in the world and English is the primary language spoken there. Since 1980s, there have been efforts to make English the official language of the land. However, they have not been successful so far. The paper Language Policy in the U. S.: Debating Official Language attempts to clarify why English has never been officialized. First, the language policy debates since the American Revolution are examined and the role of official language in the debates is defined. Second, the actors of official English debates are introduced, their motivation is explained and arguments for and against making English official are presented. Third, potential impact of official language legislation is scrutinized based on a comparative analysis of five official English bills. Thus, the paper provides an overview of the topic of official English debates and gives reasons why the U. S. Congress has never passed an official language law.
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The History and impact of the English-Only movement in the United States : Is there hope for language tolerance?
Workman, Romana ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
This Master's thesis aims to analyze the circumstances and grounds of the development of an English-Only Movement in the United States of America (USA), which pursues to establish English as the official language on a federal level, to evaluate its role in contemporary language policy in the United States where about half of all states do not have English enacted as the official language, and to confirm or reverse the thesis as to whether or not the English-Only movement is a right-wing conservative initiative and an influential interest group practicing a so-called language imperialism. This thesis describes the contemporary situation in five analyzed states and extends the topic by a language map of New York City as a historical gateway for immigrants into the United States. It also intends to analyze the contemporary language policy in the light of the new immigration law in a situation where the GOP has a majority in both Houses. The paper also has an ambition to introduce the existence, instruments and successes, or failures, respectively, of the movement to Czech professionals dealing with language issues. In the first part, the paper outlines some important definitions, resources and methods applied herein, and provides a picture of the American identity, values and culture. The second part...
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