The children of 19th-century immigrants were given instruction in any number of languages. Resistance began to grow. Currently, second-language education is fairly widely encouraged, though its abolition is still mulled over by states from time to time. There are other skirmishes. A language-politics maelstrom was stirred up when, in 1996, Oakland, Ca.
Proponents maintain that it ultimately helps students learn standard English.
Opponents say it drags English down. English, like French, has its battles abroad. This month in Hong Kong, a move to drastically cut the number of schools that teach classes in English was announced by the territory's education department. Three quarters of Hong Kong schools will have to conduct classes in the local Cantonese dialect beginning next September, down from half of schools before Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in July. Language as identity Unsurprisingly, those who would roll over lingual diversity face resistance movements.