Can We Talk?

By Ajay Singh

Published Dec 7, 2006 8:48 AM

The debate over immigration has generated calls from many Americans to make English the nation's official language — a demand that was backed by the United States Senate in May 2006. UCLA Magazine Senior Writer Ajay Singh recently moderated a discussion at the UCLA Faculty Center among four professors about the implications of making English the national language in a highly multilingual society. Participants included Otto Santa Ana, an applied linguist who is associate professor of Chicano/a Studies; Vinay Lal, an associate professor of history who specializes in the diverse civilizations of South Asia; and Edward Condren and Henry Ansgar Kelly, both professors of English who specialize in medieval literature.

Introductions

1 minute, Quicktime, 3mb

Should English be the national language of the U.S.?

17 minutes, Quicktime, 56mb

Native languages are disappearing...what can or should we do about it?

3 minutes, Quicktime, 10mb

The consequences of legislating English

6 minutes, Quicktime, 20mb

Geography and language

2 minutes, Quicktime, 8mb