The U.S. linguistic landscape is much more diverse than we imagine. This map highlights the languages spoken at home other than English. If this map is from 13 years ago, imagine what it looks like now! We must advocate for expanded language access policies in the U.S. as we see language trends shift in this direction.
How has language access policy responded so far? While D.C. has signed language access into law, other areas in the nation are well on their way towards attaining that same goal. Here are some jurisdictions with language access Executive Orders:
New York State: Executive Order No. 26 (October 6, 2011) signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo ; NY Department of Labor Explains Language Access; Press Release of Gov. Cuomo Signing Executive Order No. 26
New York City, NY: Executive Order No. 120 (July 22, 2008) signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg ; NYC Agency Language Access Plans
Suffolk County, NY: Executive Order No. 10 (November 9, 2012) signed by County Executive Steven Bellone
Montgomery County, MD: Executive Order No. 046-10 (March 4, 2010) signed by County Executive Isiah Legget; Overview of Language Acces Policies
Oakland, CA: Ordinance No. 12324 (May 8,2001) signed by Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente; City of Oakland Info Page on Language Access
Rhode Island Judiciary: Rhode Island Supreme Court Executive Order No. 2012-05 signed by Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell
