Language Policy and Identity Politics in the United States. By Ronald Schmidt, Sr. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000. 250p. $65.50 cloth, $21.95 paper.

Abstract

In the late twentieth century, language conflicts became not only a central battle in public policy but also an essential medium for political expression among traditionally margin- alized groups. This is clearly reflected in a host of policy initiatives (from antiimmigrant propositions such as 187 in California, to English-only and antibilingual education move- ments in such states as Arizona, California, Colorado, and Florida) and the proliferation of studies linking language with Latino and Asian American politics (e.g., Antonia Darder and Rodolfo D. Torres, eds., The Latino Studies Reader: Culture, Economy and Society, 1998; and Louis De- Sipio and Rodolfo de la Garza, Making Americans, Remaking America: Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1998).