policing english

Policing English in America from the
White House to the schoolhouse
Dennis Baron
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
Some Americans don’t want the newest immigrants
to have the same chance their ancestors did.
Pres. George Bush telling reporters that the Star-Spangled
Banner should be sung in English.
But Bush himself sang patriotic songs, including
the national anthem, in Spanish, and backed
by a mariachi band, during his campaigns.
The first Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner
was commissioned by the U.S. Bureau of Education
in 1919.
The “Pledge of Allegiance” is controversial when recited in
languages other than English, but school supply stores
sell these posters for teachers to put in their classrooms.
First-wave European immigrants learned English, but it
took up to three generations.
This map shows the density of Spanish speakers in Iowa.
The state is 98% English-speaking, yet residents
still feel that English needs protection.
U.S. English sued to force the government of Iowa to
get rid of voting registration materials in any language other
than English.
Rep. Steve King, of Iowa, demonstrates to his fellow
Congressmen an electrified fence to keep Mexicans
from crossing into the U.S., and offers to build it himself.
This Mexican food store is a target of English-only laws
because the colors of the Mexican flag appear above
the actual American flag.
The mayor of Bogota, New Jersey, wanted to make English
the township’s official language to protest Spanish-language
billboards advertising McDonalds.
St. Anne Catholic School in Wichita, Kansas, told students
they could only speak English in school.
A “Michelin” for America’s English-only tourist sites
The tiny border town of El Cenizo, Texas, banned English.
This Salvation Army thrift shop in Framingham,
Massachusetts, fired two workers for speaking Spanish while
they sorted clothes donated for sale.
If you order the famous “Philly Cheese Steak” at Geno’s,
where it was invented, you’d better order in English.
Joey Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks, distributes this
English-only bumper sticker.
The Pleasure Inn, Cincinnati, Ohio, is an English-only bar.
In the 1970s the Supreme Court permitted the FCC to
ban comedian George Carlin’s “7 dirty words.”
New York City is considering a ban on bitch, ho, and
the “n-word.”
Even if New York’s City Council bans bitch, you can
still buy copies of bitch magazine at local newsstands.
Early printed version of the Second Amendment; it was
originally the fourth amendment as drafted by James
Madison.
Webster (1789) on absolute constructions.
Lindley Murray (1795) on the absolute.
OBS. 2.--The nominative put absolute with a participle, is
often equivalent to a dependent clause commencing with
when, while, if, since, or because.
Goold Brown (1880) on the absolute construction.
There are grammatical dependence, and dependence of thought.
Henry Fowler (1906) suggests that grammatical dependence
is not the same as semantic dependence.
It cannot be presumed that any clause in the
constitution is intended to be without effect
Chief Justice John Marshall, in the opinion he wrote
on Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Guns and Ammo magazine sells this 4 DVD set on personal
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and for serious home defense nuts, there’s this model . . . .
Benelli M4 TacticalOriginally designed for military deployment
and police SWAT teams, Benelli's new M4 features an autoregulated gas-operated system. Dual stainless steel, selfcleaning pistons operate directly against the rotating bolt head-thus eliminating linkages and improving reliability. The M4
comes standard with a Picatinny rail for optics; a ghost-ring,
fully adjustable rear sight; and fixed-blade front sight. The guns
are available with either standard or collapsible tactical stocks.
Price: $1,535. (1,046).