Taking it to the next level

Native languages have been receiving a lot of good press these days. It seems like almost every week this summer there has been a language workshop in Alaska enthusiastically announced in the mainstream press. It's a refreshing change from days when Native languages were officially repressed. Now they are increasingly tolerated, and in some cases even celebrated. Last year's creation of the Native Language Preservation and Advisory Council gives Alaska Native languages some status within state government, though we're still a long ways from adopting Alaska's first languages as official languages. The English-only fear-mongerers will ensure that will be a tough battle. And perhaps less significant than it might seem. Recent news from Hawaii suggests that even status as an official language has limited real meaning.

Reuters reported yesterday that Hawaiian language activist Daniel Anthony has been repeatedly denied the right to use Hawaiian in dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles. He claims he was laughed at when he spoke Hawaiian to a clerk while trying to renew his driver's license. So he just kept driving without a license. This was discovered recently when he got a speeding ticket. He explained that he tried to renew his license several times but wasn't able to do so using his Native language. Now he's in court, where apparently the rules are different and he will be granted an interpreter.

The odd thing is that Hawaiian (along with English) is an official language as defined in the state constitution. Turns out that doesn't really mean that much though. Eight years passed between the adoption of the constitution and the lifting (in 1986!!) of the prohibition against Hawaiian language instruction in schools. Apparently the message took a while to get through. And if you dig a little deeper it turns out that what the law actually says is this:

"The Hawaiian language is the native language of Hawaii and may be used on all emblems and symbols representative of the State, its departments, agencies and political subdivisions."

"Emblems" and "symbols" are a far cry from what I would call an "official" language, but that's the best that Hawaii can do. So perhaps official status is worth a lot less than we might think. Better to just start using language, official or not. In the end language practice will override language policy. Mr. Anthony deserves a lot of credit for being willing to stand up and use his language -- not just in ceremonial or formulaic contexts, but in real everyday mundane interactions with the DMV. These simple acts of language use may be most effective in changing language attitudes and promoting Native languages.