ABSTRACT
The American response to lingual diversity has been complex, seeing English language acquisition as important in its own right, and as a symbol of national cohesion. As discussed in this chapter, the degree to which Americans have tolerated the retention of foreign languages has been influenced by a range of political, economic and social issues that were, at best, minimally associated with language itself. In turn, attitudes of the majority have influenced the degree to which immigrants could access language-training programmes and make the contacts needed to learn English. In addition, the attitudes of immigrants about the broader American society influenced the degree to which they sought to learn English and distance themselves from their ancestral language roots.
