At War With Diversity:
U.S. Language Policy in an Age of Anxiety
James Crawford
Executive Director, National Association for Bilingual Education
Comments from Gareth Diaz Zehrbach
Director and Principal, Nuestro Mundo Community School, Madison
Tuesday, February 8, 2005, 4:00 pm
1418 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive
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Abstract
The term U.S. language policy is in many ways a misnomer. The United States has never had a language policy, consciously planned and national in scope. We have had language policies - ad hoc responses to immediate needs or political pressures - often contradictory and inadequate to cope with changing times. Neglect of this question is harmful not merely to Americans from non-English backgrounds, but to all of our people. The underdeveloped state of U.S. language resources became especially evident in the wake of 9/11, which exposed the inability of our diplomats and security agencies to monitor events in many parts of the world.
Why have no comprehensive policy initiatives been launched to tackle the problem? The reasons are fundamentally political. A pervasive anxiety about diversity at home and the dramatic growth of Spanish-speaking communities in particular has led elites to adopt a strategy of avoidance. A policy consensus can only emerge when the political questions have been squarely addressed.
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