LIGN 8 Languages and Cultures of America Interviewee # _______

Minority languages survey

I am in a class on language and culture at UCSD, and we have been reading about minority lan-
guages. Can I ask you a few questions related to these topics? The interview should not take
longer than half an hour. You dont have to answer any questions that you dont want to, and you
can end the interview at any time. This interview will be kept anonymous, and the results are for
class purposes only. Summaries of the anonymous results from all students in the course will be
shared on a course website with the course professor, TAs, and other students in the course.

Biographical information

1. Male or female Male Female

1822 2327 2832 3337
2. How old are you?
3842 4347 4852 over 52
Black or African American White
3. How would you classify your-
Asian American Indian and Alaska Native
self racially and ethnically?
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
(Select all that apply.)
Hispanic/Latino Other
I immigrated to the USA as an adult.
I immigrated to the USA as a child.
One or both of my parents immigrated to the USA, but
4. Which of the following best I was born here.
describes you? One, some, or all of my grandparents immigrated to the
USA, but my parents and I were born here.
Other.
5. Do you speak a language other
Yes No
than English regularly?
Spanish Mandarin Chinese Cantonese
French German Tagalog
Italian Vietnamese Korean
Russian Polish Arabic
Greek Portuguese Japanese
6. If you answered Yes in 5, Hindi Farsi (Persian) Serbo-Croatian
which language(s) do you
Urdu Gujarathi Armenian
speak regularly? (Select all
that apply.) Yiddish Navajo Hmong
Laotian Thai Hungarian
Finnish Swedish Norwegian
Danish Dutch Hebrew
Other Mon-Khmer (Cambodian)
Please specify: ______________________________

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LIGN 8 Languages and Cultures of America Interviewee # _______

Minority languages survey

Main questions

7. Are you in favor of public

7 6 5 4 3 2 1
funding for voting ballots in
very much somewhat somewhat very much
languages spoken by signifi-
in favor in favor against against
cant minority groups?
8. Are you in favor of public
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
funding for healthcare pro-
very much somewhat somewhat very much
grams in languages spoken by
in favor in favor against against
significant minority groups?
9. Are you in favor of public
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
funding for school programs
very much somewhat somewhat very much
in languages spoken by signif-
in favor in favor against against
icant minority groups?
10. Are you in favor of public
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
funding for after-school pro-
very much somewhat somewhat very much
grams in languages spoken by
in favor in favor against against
significant minority groups?
11. Are you in favor of public
funding for radio, TV, and 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
other media (including ad- very much somewhat somewhat very much
vertising) in languages spoken in favor in favor against against
by significant minority groups?
12. Are you in favor of private
funding for radio, TV, and 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
other media (including ad- very much somewhat somewhat very much
vertising) in languages spoken in favor in favor against against
by significant minority groups?
13. Are you in favor of private
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
business activities being con-
very much somewhat somewhat very much
ducted in languages spoken by
in favor in favor against against
significant minority groups?
14. Are you in favor of govern-
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ment activities being conduct-
very much somewhat somewhat very much
ed in languages spoken by sig-
in favor in favor against against
nificant minority groups?

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LIGN 8 Languages and Cultures of America Interviewee # _______

Minority languages survey

Subsidiary questions

15. Is English the official language

Yes No
of the USA?
16. Are you in favor of making 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
English the official language very much somewhat somewhat very much
of the USA? in favor in favor against against
17. Are you in favor of making 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
English and some other lan- very much somewhat somewhat very much
guage(s) official in the USA? in favor in favor against against
Spanish Mandarin Chinese Cantonese
French German Tagalog
Italian Vietnamese Korean
18. What languages other than Russian Polish Arabic
English would you consider Greek Portuguese Japanese
making official? (Or, if you Hindi Farsi (Persian) Serbo-Croatian
answered somewhat against
Urdu Gujarathi Armenian
to very against in 17, what
languages do you think others Yiddish Navajo Hmong
might want to make official?) Laotian Thai Hungarian
(Select all that apply.) Finnish Swedish Norwegian
Danish Dutch Hebrew
Other Mon-Khmer (Cambodian)
Please specify: ______________________________

19. What do you think would be different (whether positive or negative) if English were declared
the official language of the USA? What do you think would stay the same?
The fact that the United States does not have an official language leaves it controversial as to
______________________________________________________________________________
how the predominant use of English in all public situations is justified. However, if we allow
______________________________________________________________________________
other languages to share the same status of wide use as English, it would help involve more
______________________________________________________________________________
minorities into the social activities, but it would also be impractical to do so for more than only
______________________________________________________________________________
a few such languages.
______________________________________________________________________________
On the other hand, if English were the official language of the United States, immigrants who
______________________________________________________________________________
resides in the country would be expected to use English as main means of communication. To
______________________________________________________________________________
help inclusion, public funding may be used to establish English training courses so that
______________________________________________________________________________
immigrants may reach a larger impact and value to a wider community; whereas each minor
______________________________________________________________________________
community may fund their own language programs to strengthen their own identity in a diverse
______________________________________________________________________________
society.
______________________________________________________________________________

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