The War on Language

Language often exemplifies the state of a society, including its conflicts, its policies, and its attitudes towards groups of people. Although the US has never had and still does not have an official language, the domination of English has been both a cause and a platform for racists, nativists, “patriots,” and nationalists to discriminate against non-whites.

Only 40% of US residents spoke English as their first language at the time of the country’s founding. Today, that figure is 87%. It might be perplexing how the proportion of native English speakers has risen despite increased foreign immigration. The cruel truth is that many white people have taken actions to actively suppress foreign languages and cultures. Furthermore, immigrants have always been encouraged to switch from their native languages to English to signal their assimilation and their acceptance of American values.

In the antebellum South, slave owners and slave traders sometimes cut out the tongues of slaves who did not or could not speak English. During the Civil War, General Benjamin Butler had many Francophones executed to discourage the use of French. Following the Civil War, Blackfoot Indians were sent to boarding schools where they would be beaten if they spoke their native language.

A particularly intense language conflict, known as the War on Language, occurred during WWI. Many state and local governments prohibited the use of German so as to discourage German immigrants from pledging allegiance to their home country. At the time, German was the second-most commonly spoken language in America, and it seemed that the best way to stop German spies during the war was to prohibit the use of their native language. In addition to being a sign of assimilation, speaking English also became a badge of patriotism. People even went so far as to rebrand German foods--some particularly notable examples were “liberty cabbage” for sauerkraut and “American fries” for German fried potatoes. Foreign languages were also restricted in more indirect ways through the limiting of foreign immigration.

Through this War on Language, the English language became synonymous with being American, and the English-only statutes established during the Great War both reflected and further fueled racism, nativism, and a strong sense of nationalism in the American people.

Food for thought: to what extent does language reflect societal conflict, and to what extent does it directly cause cultural clashes?

https://illinois.edu/blog/view/25/116243

https://harvardmagazine.com/2002/03/language-wars.html