ABSTRACT

Language as a means of preserving culture is the history of every society. The history of organized language consciousness, language loyalty, and language maintenance by different ethnic groups in the western world dates back more than five centuries to the formation of the large nation-states and the colonization of the New World. In America, national identity and the establishment of a national language are just as closely identified. The intimate relationship between language and culture is one that is little understood by linguists and anthropologists although both acknowledge its reality and its importance. The importance of linguistic identity in defining national identity has long been recognized by all governments. The question of linguistic assimilation becomes central to that of cultural assimilation since linguistic similarity can support both by maintaining relationships within the ethnic group and maintaining an identity separate from majority society.