“English Only” and our struggle to understand the concept of language

In this paper, I examine the impact of three language theories, nomenclaturism, segregationalism, and integrationalism, on our view of language. Specifically, I examine “English Only” laws and the way in which the legal community has relied on language theories, implicitly and explicitly, in responding to these laws. The “English Only” issue illustrates that the elements of “a language” are diverse and highly contextualized, and, therefore, I propose that the principle of integrationalism is the best way to study the complex, multidimensional nature of language.