English-Only laws in AZ

[Susan Penfield]

All,
I'm sure this is a pattern affecting endangered languages in many corners of the
world. Thanks for this perspective on the Tucson and Canadian situations. For
an indepth discussion of Prop. 203 in Arizona, see this page on James
Crawford's Language Policy website:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/az-unz.htm

It contains a complete explanation of the origin of Prop.203 (spinning out of
California...) and the current status of this legislation.
The tenor of 'English-only' arguments, although aimed at the Mexican-American
population, is clearly a threat to anyone working on indigenous language
revitalization and we should all be aware of the hidden agendas in this type of
language policy.

Best,
Susan

Quoting Rolland Nadjiwon <mikinakn at SHAW.CA>:

> Interesting Anecdote:
>
> Proposition  203, English only, is not a recent proposition.  My wife and I
> and our children were living in Tucson at the time it more of an issue.
> There was a major opposition to it by the Mexican Americans. One of the
> outspoken families was the Rhonstadt family, an old family with signatures
> on Spanish/ American documentation predating Texas/New
> Mexico/Arizona/California statehood. The protests resulted in a response of
> the nature that the proposition would not be rescinded but it would not be
> enforced. It appeared, at the time, many people did not realize the extent
> of the Mexican American remaining in the southwest even to this day and had
> intended the legislation to be used against the Dene and other native Tribes
> in Arizona. The Mexican American response seemed to be a total surprise to
> White rural populations who strongly supported it. Perhaps that is part of
> the reason why you find 203 is "poorly crafted and even more poorly
> implemented...."
>
> The only reason I am aware of this legislation, is because of the two
> official language legislation in Canada for French and English. That
> Canadian decision around the same time as Prop 203 was 'very' controversial
> in Canada.
>
> Here in the city where we live, we had moved to Tucson for my wife to do her
> Grad work at UofA, the mayor, a somewhat colourful/notorious personality,
> rescinded the legislation and declared Sault Ste. Marie, ON. as an English
> only city. Both my wife and I were unaware of the Mayor's actions. However,
> people who knew where relocated from were saying, "Hey, you come from that
> English only city up in Canada."
> "No. Canada has two official languages by Federal Legislation: English and
> French."
> "Oh no. Your mayor just declared your city an English only city."
>
> Of course it didn't work. I could never figure why he did that considering
> he is Italian and, probably, the largest language group in Sault Ste. Marie
> outside of English, as Hispanic is in Arizona.
>
> However, our Native Language programs are taking a beating here in Canada
> also because of official language legislation where we are neither included
> or excluded.
>
> -------
> wahjeh
> rolland nadjiwon
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Susan Penfield" <sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU>
> To: <ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 9:16 PM
> Subject: Re: English-Only laws in AZ
>
>
> > Matthew,
> > Thank you for bringing this to everyone's attention. It is particularly
> > troubling since, in the beginning of the process, Native people were
> > assured, repeatedly, that they would not be included in the application of
> > this
> > poorly crafted and even more poorly implemented (my opinion, put mildly)
> > proposition.
> > Susan
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Matthew Ward" <mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US>
> > To: <ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
> > Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 3:55 PM
> > Subject: English-Only laws in AZ
> >
> >
> >> Just wanted to mention that I've been in touch with ACLU Arizona about
> >> the issue of Prop. 203, the English-only law, affecting Native immersion
> >> programs.  It does indeed seem that Window Rock Public Schools may risk
> >> losing funding by continuing their immersion programs, and the issue may
> >> have to go to court.
> >>
> >> We all need to be vigilant in letting people know that these
> >> English-only laws do not just apply to immigrants--they also endanger
> >> efforts to preserve Native American languages as well.  I suspect that
> >> if Azizona voters had understood the effect of this law, they wouldn't
> >> have voted for it in the first place.
> >>
> >> Matthew Ward
> >
>


Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.
Department of English
   The Writing Program
   Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Ph.D. Program (affiliate faculty)
   Indigenous Languages and Technology
Southwest Center, Research Associate in Anthropology
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721