Language and Politics in Guam and Micronesia

Kehoe, Monika (1974-03-09). Language and Politics in Guam and Micronesia. Los Angeles, CA. p. 24.

• Has attachment: File:6Z5I2TFE.pdf

Abstract: There is presently little world-wide interest in Micronesia. Attitudes toward the U.S. administration vary from the pro-American bid for Commonwealth status by the Marianas to the movement for independence in the Marshalls. The polarization of these attitudes from the northernmost to southernmost reaches of the territory seems to be in direct relation to the extent and intensity of the exposure to an American-English language environment in the various areas. In spite of a 200-year background of Spanish influence on Guam, the dynamic shift in one generation from Chamorro to English as a mother tongue, together with an almost jingoistic U.S. patriotism, exemplifies the significant effect of seven decades of exposure to English, especially through American television. In Micronesia, English has been the official language for only the last three decades, with the result that there is a much stronger persistence of native cultural patterns and a greater reliance on the local vernaculars, with a more critical attitude toward the U.S., especially among college students, than there is in Guam. These pro and con attitudes toward the U.S. and its culture have not been planned. Language engineering has, unfortunately, never been used to unify Guam and the Trust Territory et the Pacific islands into a social, economic, and political entity.

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MAG: 293227674
OpenAlex: W293227674
CorpusID: 141821960