Leiden University Student Repository

Waterhout, Jerike (2019)

El impacto de los Movimientos English-Only en las actitudes hacia el castellano en los Estados Unidos: Estudio comparativo sobre la situación sociolingüística de los hispanohablantes antes y después de la elección del Presidente Trump

Bachelor thesis | Latijns-Amerikastudies (BA)

In recent years, the debate on the question whether English should become the sole official language of the United States (USA) is widespread. English-Only movements have emerged, also known as Official English Movements. Such movements try to establish English as the only official language and also believe that the protection of English is necessary, due to the arrival of a large number of immigrants with other first languages. The U.S. English organization says that it is not against people who speak other languages, but is against the idea of the government working in other languages, because it allegedly divides the country. At the moment, Donald Trump has also been shaping up as a fierce supporter of the English-Only Movement. This study focuses on the impact of English-Only movements on attitudes towards Spanish, given that the Spanish-speaking population forms an increasingly important group in the US, both in economic and political terms. There are many social factors that...Show moreIn recent years, the debate on the question whether English should become the sole official language of the United States (USA) is widespread. English-Only movements have emerged, also known as Official English Movements. Such movements try to establish English as the only official language and also believe that the protection of English is necessary, due to the arrival of a large number of immigrants with other first languages. The U.S. English organization says that it is not against people who speak other languages, but is against the idea of the government working in other languages, because it allegedly divides the country. At the moment, Donald Trump has also been shaping up as a fierce supporter of the English-Only Movement. This study focuses on the impact of English-Only movements on attitudes towards Spanish, given that the Spanish-speaking population forms an increasingly important group in the US, both in economic and political terms. There are many social factors that influence attitudes towards languages. The question is to what extent President Donald Trump and the English-Only Movements contribute to these attitudes regarding the Spanish language and the corresponding alleged discrimination. This study analyzes whether the English-Only Movements negatively influence the perceived status of Spanish.Show less

language attitudes

spanish

USA

English-Only

Donald Trump

Author

Waterhout, Jerike

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Taalkunde

Supervisors

Gonzalez, Paz

ECTS Credits

10

Language

es