Languages in America: A Pluralist View

In response to "English only" activists, sociolinguist Dicker presents an argument for the benefits of language diversity in the United States. She begins by discussing the role language plays in personal and public identity and debunks the idea of America as a "melting pot." Other topics include attitudes toward minority languages in American education, federal language-restrictionist legislation, and the practice of official multilingualism in other countries. Dicker (English, Hostos Community…