Canadian and U.S. Language Policies

In the protracted debate about how best to create a nation of fluent English speakers in the United States, Canada serves both as a model of successful language immersion programs and as a cautionary tale with respect to the social, political, and economic dynamics that many Americans associate with the Canadian language strife in Quebec. Although the histories of both Canada and the United States testify to the many languages of the native inhabitants of these lands, as well as to the multiple and varied languages of those who immigrated to these countries, the linguistic philosophy and policies of these nations have diverged significantly from the beginning.

According to the Canada Public Service Agency, prior to the Official Languages Act of 1969, English served as the official language of the Canadian government, the economy, and the educational system. Passage of the act identified English and French as the nation's two official languages and required all federal institutions to serve the public in the official language of their choice. Another significant piece of national language legislation was the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which reaffirmed the equality of English and French with respect to their use in the Canadian Parliament and Government. In 1988, the Official Languages Act was revised to provide additional support for the language guarantees articulated in the Charter. That same year, the Canadian government adopted the Official Languages Regulations, Communications With and Services to the Public, which specified the situations in which federal offices were required to provide services in both official languages to Canadian citizens.

At the beginning of the new century, in January 2001, the Speech from the Throne, delivered by the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, affirmed the country's commitment to linguistic duality. Three months later, the Canadian prime minister, the Right Honourable Jean Chretien, again called attention to the need for coordinated language policies and emphasized the importance of protecting the dual-language heritage of the nation. According to a Government of Canada Web site, in September 2002, Governor General Clarkson's Speech from the Throne affirmed that “linguistic duality is at the heart of our collective identity.” Consistent with the tenets of this speech, the 2003 Action Plan for Official Languages was organized around three tenets: (1) Linguistic duality is part of [Page 110]our heritage, (2) linguistic duality is an asset for our future, and (3) the federal policy on official languages needs to be enhanced. The third revision of the Official Languages Act occurred in 2005. It further clarified the rights and obligations stipulated in the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While current policies confirm the equality of French and English as the official governmental languages of Canada and acknowledge French as the official provincial language of Quebec, these policies also proclaim the right of all citizens to receive education, government, and health services in the official language of their choice.

Whereas the language legislation in Canada has been quite consistent with respect to the establishment and protection of both English and French as the official national languages, James Crawford asserts that American efforts have focused largely on the state-level prohibition of particular languages. Examples include California's early revision of its state constitution in 1879, for the purposes of eliminating Spanish language rights and the various state bans on the public use of the German language during World War I. All attempts to mandate English as the sole official language of the United States have so far failed. These include a bill attempting to designate “American” as the national language in 1923 and the English Language Constitutional Amendment proposed in 1981 by the late Senator S. I. Hayakawa. Today, almost every new Congress is faced with at least one attempt to revisit the subject. Frustrated by the failure of these legislative proposals, members of the English-only movement have formed organizations to lobby more strongly for them. They have focused their attention on making English the official language of government agencies. A bill of this sort was approved by the House of Representatives in 1996 but was rejected by the Senate.

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