Word: espanol
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...habla espanol -- English only spoken here. When it comes to language, however, Californians showed little tolerance for speaking in foreign tongues. In polyglot California, where Spanish is practically a necessity and Korean is not a rarity, voters passed a measure making English the "official" language. Many saw the vote as a sign of xenophobia. Larry Berg, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California, describes the vote as reflecting "no-nothing, nativist resentment toward this massive influx of people." But former Senator S.I. Hayakawa, a formidable semanticist who led the crusade, promised it was not meant...