Fined for driving while Spanish in Dallas, fired for working while Spanish in Taos

[Dennis Baron]

There's a new post on the Web of Language:

Fined for driving while Spanish in Dallas, fired for working while
Spanish in Taos

English-only is back in the news this week. In Dallas, even a hint of
Spanish in your voice can get you fined, and in Taos, New Mexico, a
smattering of Spanish on your name tag can get you fired.

For the past three years, Dallas police have been issuing tickets for
"non-English speaking driver," an offense which carried a $204 fine.
Only it turns out that "driving while Spanish" is not against the law.
During that time, at least six different police officers issued at
least 39 tickets for the nonexistent offense, and now the city has to
track down the offenders to clean up their driving records and return
their money.

read more, and find out about a Taos hotelier who ordered his
employees to anglicize their names, on

the Web of Language:  http://bit.ly/weblan
____________________
Dennis Baron
Professor of English and Linguistics
Department of English
University of Illinois
608 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801

office: 217-244-0568
fax: 217-333-4321

http://www.illinois.edu/goto/debaron

read the Web of Language:
http://www.illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage

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