California Proposition 63: Language Attitudes Reflected in the Public Debate

Abstract

In the November 1988 elections, three states—Colorado, Arizona, and Florida—passed measures making English the official language of those states. These victories were foreshadowed by the passage, in 1986, of Position 63 in California. Proposition 63 amended the state constitution to declare English the official language of California and charged the legislature and state officials with the preservation and enhancement of English as the common language of the state. The appearance of Proposition 63 on the political horizon brought language into public parlance, allowing us the opportunity to explore American language ideology. Preelection editorials and letters to the editor in California newspapers speculating on the need for and effects of Proposition 63 reveal the language attitudes of the writers. Certain themes that regularly appeared on both sides of the issue may be taken as elements of current American ideology.

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