This Doctoral Dissertation Research project supports research on public opinion about language policies in particular and of competing notions of American identity and citizenship more generally. The project develops and tests a theory that 1) explains why people hold opinions on language policy issues ad 2) highlights the conditions under which people are more or less likely to support restrictive language policies. The project's central aim is to advance the state of knowledge in political science and political psychology on the ways in which symbolic attachments to images of national identity influence policy preferences. It will do so by expanding the range of symbolic and ideological concerns that have been attributed to causing the widespread public support for English-only legislation, particularly by emphasizing the ways in which people think about American identity and citizenship and the role of the citizen in the polity. American political culture is infused with the democratic image of the participating citizen in a cohesive community in which deliberation and compromise contribute to harmonious public life. This research argues that this image, along with those images that have already been examined by other scholars, is essential for explaining patterns of public support for restrictive language policies. The limited range of items that appear on existing surveys points to the need for a more detailed and in-depth approach to this issue domain. The goals of this study require a strategy that includes new sources of data in which members of the public are allowed to develop their own statements on these issues and express them in their own words as they interact with other citizens. This study collects data via focus groups and controlled group interviews. These sources provide the data that are necessary to adequately build upon existing theories of how individuals make linkages between group identity, self-interest, and policy preferences.
