English-only lumbers on

I used to think that the fashion for English-only ballot initiatives was a sign that Native languages (or at least languages other than English) were growing in strength. After all, why would anyone bother with such an initiative unless they felt that English was under "threat?" Alaska 1998 initiative was ruled unconstitutional in 2002, but that hasn't stopped the movement elsewhere.

This November 4th Missourians will vote on Constitutional Amendment 1, which reads:

"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings at which any public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated whether conducted in person or by communication equipment including conference calls, video conferences, or Internet chat or message board?"

I wonder what language has been used in governmental meetings up till now?

The state motto Salus populi suprema lex esto is written in Latin, so would this initiative ban the use of the state motto in governmental meetings? The name Missouri is said be an Otoe Siouan word, but given that there are no surviving speakers of the Otoe dialect, that can't be seen as much of a threat. Still, it would be awkward if the word Missouri were to be banned from all official state governmental business.

While Alaska's English-only movement appears to be dead for now, we can learn much from the fear and misunderstanding which give rise to initiatives such as that in Missouri. In order to advance the cause of Native language revitalization, we must first overcome the hurdle of fear of non-English languages.