Name: ____________________________________________________________________

ISN$pg$

HOMEWORK: The Language Divide in America

Modern US History

Directions: Read the attached article, Different States, Different Responses to Language Divide and answer the
questions below.
1. Select the sentence that shows how state and local governments have adapted to changes in the language preferences of their people.
(A) In California, for example, English is the state's official language.
(B) California is a state with "many groups of people, who speak many languages," said Gandara.
(C) The number of non-native-English speakers in Boston prompted the city to offer ballots in some areas in Chinese and
Vietnamese.
(D) In Arizona, an official-English group, ProEnglish, is supporting a community college student who was suspended when she
complained that members of her class were speaking Spanish during group work.
2. What are some states doing to promote English as the official language?
(A) prohibiting people from speaking other languages
(B) convincing non-English speaking Americans to speak English
(C) forcing immigrants to learn and speak English for better prospects
(D) barring the translation of certain documents into any other language
3. Select the sentence that is MOST important to include in a summary of the article.
(A) "This growing diversity of languages is just simply a reality," said Patricia Gandara, a professor of education at the University
of California-Los Angeles.
(B) Some local and state measures have roots going back more than a century.
(C) In some cases, state and local governments have made changes to adjust to changes in their population, regardless of what
their own law says.
(D) California is a state with "many groups of people, who speak many languages," said Gandara.
Connection to the Essential Question:
How does learning English represent PROGRESS for immigrants?

$
$
$

How does learning English represent SACRIFICE for immigrants?

$
$
$

Is the progress WORTH the sacrifice? In other words, should immigrants be REQUIRED to learn English? Explain using at least TWO
specific details from the reading.

$
$
$
$
$
$

Different states, different responses

to English-language divide
By Stateline.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.24.14
Word Count 974

Joe McLauglin puts up "vote here" signs in multiple languages outside a polling station in the Jamaica Plain
section of Boston. Photo: AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye

WASHINGTON A growing language divide has opened up across the

country: The rise in the number of Americans who speak English as a second
language at home is leading to very different responses from cities and states.
In some places, policymakers are adopting or strengthening English-as-ofciallanguage laws, and barring the translation of certain documents into any other
language. Meanwhile, other places are becoming true multilingual societies,
with laws and rules that make government forms and documents easier for
immigrants who dont speak English.
The United States is one of the few countries without a national ofcial language,
and the debate over ofcial-English laws has been around almost as long as the
nation itself. The lack of federal laws has not stopped cities and states from
acting on their own. The result is a variety of responses that are different from
state to state, or even within states.

More States Are Making Attempts

Right now, 31 states and many counties and cities have adopted English as
their ofcial language. Oklahoma became the most recent state to do so in
2010. Carroll County, Maryland, has done so as well. This year, Michigan, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin saw attempts to adopt
English as their ofcial language.
Yet the number of non-English speakers is rising so fast that even in states with
English as the ofcial language, there is no guarantee that everyone will follow
the laws.
This growing diversity of languages is just simply a reality, said Patricia
Gandara, a professor of education at the University of California-Los Angeles.
She is the author of an upcoming book, The Bilingual Advantage.
Things are changing, she added. And this nation is becoming a very
multilingual nation.

Language Arguments Go Way Back

Some local and state measures have roots going back more than a century.
In 1919, for example, Nebraska passed a law banning the teaching of any
modern language other than English to any child who had not yet passed the
eighth grade. The law was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Over the years, most of the arguments defending English language laws have
not changed. Those backing English as the ofcial language say the law helps
preserve unity. They also say that having English as the ofcial language offers
immigrants better economic chances, and that learning English is the best way
for new immigrants to succeed.
The laws are not about forbidding people from speaking other languages,
explained Karin Davenport of the group U.S. English. It promotes English
instruction for immigrants and backs making English the ofcial language.
By not asking immigrants to speak English, youre still providing them with that
crutch thats allowing them to remain linguistically isolated, she said.
Still, the country's changing population has challenged such beliefs.

Many Groups, Many Languages

Nearly 21 percent of Americans, or nearly 61 million people, now speak a
language other than English at home, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. In
2000, that number was 18 percent. In some cases, state and local governments
have made changes to adjust to changes in their population, regardless of what
their own law says.
In California, for example, English is the states ofcial language. Lawmakers
and state ofcials have to take all steps necessary to make sure that the role of
English as the common language of the state is preserved. But the law is seen
more as a symbol and it doesnt specically bar the state from translating
documents into other languages.
Today, California offers many documents in languages other than English,
including an entire Spanish-language version of the states Department of Motor
Vehicles website.
California is a state with "many groups of people, who speak many languages,
Gandara said.
Census numbers support that. Forty-four percent of Californians reported
speaking a language other than English at home, while in West Virginia just 2
percent do.
That could explain why California has found itself as the leader of a debate this
year over ofcial rules asking for the translation of patient instructions on
prescription drug bottles.

Federal Money Comes Into Play

Federal guidelines require drugstores that receive federal funding to offer some
translation services, and some private drugstores have done it in order to attract
more customers.
California would be the second state, after New York, to pass a law requiring
translations on all prescription bottles. Some worry about wrong translations or
errors in communicating across languages. But people supporting the idea say
it as a matter of safety and necessity.
The number of limited-English-procient individuals in the United States
continues to grow, said Evan Weibel of Language Scientic, a company that
offers translation services for pharmacies. The need for services like this is
something thats not going to go away.
Another example took place this year in Massachusetts. The number of nonnative-English speakers in Boston prompted the city to offer voting ballots in
some areas in Chinese and in Vietnamese.

Does English Unify?

Despite the countrys changing population, ofcial-English laws have proven to
be popular. Supporters continue to push more states and cities to adopt English
language laws. They also work to convince states that have such laws, but do
not enforce them, to take them more seriously.
In Arizona, an ofcial-English group, ProEnglish, is supporting a community
college student who was suspended when she complained that members of her
class were speaking Spanish during group work. ProEnglish's director, Robert
Vandervoort, said the states English law should have blocked the suspension,
and that the case shows why such laws matter.
Pennsylvania is another state that may consider the issue later this fall.
We can save tax dollars at the same time as promoting the unifying effect of
English as the ofcial language of the state, said Representative Daryl
Metcalfe, who sponsored an ofcial-English measure.
It gives (immigrants) greater earning power, they mingle into the culture," he
said.