Publisher's Synopsis
In the United States, cultural pluralism and the governmental programs it has inspired, such as bilingual education and multilingual ballots, have convinced many recent immigrants that it is not necessary to learn English to become an American. Some immigrants have not only failed to assimilate into the mainstream, but have refused to assimilate. These individuals feel encouraged to change the society in which they have settled, instead of assimilating into that society. Attempts to declare English as the official language have been branded as a conspiracy to undermine minority languages and cultures. This book discusses the need for English to be declared the official language of the United States. The Official English movement, which has succeeded in getting 30 states to adopt English as their official language, is a concerted effort by mainstream Americans (not necessarily of Anglo-American descent) to reinforce America's assimilationist ideal and to create an ethnically diverse, but culturally united, America. The book looks at the need for a new model of assimilation, which rejects cultural pluralism as unsuitable for the American experience, as the need of the hour.
