Abstract

In both public and scholarly debate, it is argued that a community’s desire for social solidarity, cohesion, or cultural preservation – often called national identity – justifies an expectation that voluntary immigrants learn the language of the receiving state. These arguments have generated considerable debate around the content of the demand, its enforcement, and whether it is justified. However, the predominant focus has been on what demands should or should not be imposed on immigrants. I invert this focus and examine, not what these language demands imply for immigrants, but what they imply for the receiving community and state. To do so, I apply the distinction between ethnic, cultural, and civic nationalism to language proficiency expectations. I argue that if a national community’s desire for social cohesion leads to duties for immigrants to learn the local language, then it also leads to requirements for the national community, state, and individual citizens to assist immigrants in that language acquisition.