Linguistic Society of America - Resolutions and Statements

Resolutions and Statements

The LSA takes a stand on many language-related issues, especially those relating to public policy. For instance, in 1987, the LSA officially took a stand against the English-only movement in the United States. The LSA statement argued that "English-only measures ... are based on misconceptions about the role of a common language in establishing political unity, and ... are inconsistent with basic American traditions of linguistic tolerance." In 1997, an LSA resolution supported the Oakland school-board in its attempt to favor teaching that is sensitive to the distinctive characteristics of African American Vernacular English (the so-called "Ebonics" debate). A 2001 resolution on sign languages "affirm that sign languages used by deaf communities are full-fledged languages with all the structural characteristics and range of expression of spoken languages" and lent the support of the LSA to a status for sign languages equal to that accorded to other languages in academic and political life. A complete list of resolutions and statements adopted by the LSA may be found on its website.

Read more about this topic:  Linguistic Society Of America

Famous quotes containing the words resolutions and, resolutions and/or statements:

    No woman ever yet either reasoned or acted long together consequentially; but some little thing, some love, some resentment, some present momentary interest, some supposed slight, or some humour, always breaks in upon, and oversets their most prudent resolutions and schemes.
    Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)

    Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil. They give us, now and then, some of those luxurious sterile emotions that have a certain charm for the weak.... They are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.
    Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

    In so far as the statements of geometry speak about reality, they are not certain, and in so far as they are certain, they do not speak about reality.
    Albert Einstein (1879–1955)