According to the recent census figures (McLeod, 1993), an increasing proportion of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English. In California that proportion is nearly one in three. So far, the United States has been spared the difficulties experienced in other parts of the world, where bitter cultural, ethnic, and class divisions have been exacerbated by linguistic differences. At least one commentator attributed this relative calm to the dominance of a single, national language (English), coupled with the appearance of tolerance from the absence of any official language (Ruiz, 1990).
Yet that appearance of tolerance is threatened by the strength of the English-only movement. Legislation is pending in Congress to establish English as the official language, and 18 states have already adopted Official English Declarations. In California, the voters in 1986 overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution declaring English to be the official language of the state (Cal. Const., art. III, §6).
Article III, section 6, of the California Constitution provides as follows:
- Purpose. English is the common language of the people of the United States of America and the State of California. This section is intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the English language, and not to supersede any of the rights guaranteed to the people by this Constitution.
- English as the Official Language of California. English is the official language of the State of California.
- Enforcement. The Legislature shall enforce this section by appropriate legislation. The Legislature and officials of the State of California shall take all steps necessary to insure that the role of English as the common language of the State of California is preserved and enhanced. The Legislature shall make no law which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of the State of California......
