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POLITICS AND LEGISLATION IN CITIZENSHIP TESTING IN THE UNITED STATES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2009

Antony John Kunnan
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Abstract

Politics and legislation have been entangled in language planning and policy in the United States since 1776. Regulations for immigration and citizenship (naturalization) have been in place since the Naturalization Act of 1790. This article examines the history of immigration and citizenship legislation that started with this act up to the more recent act of 1952, which included regulations requiring ability in English language and knowledge of history and government. It concludes with brief examinations of the old and redesigned Naturalization Tests.

Type
Research Article
Information
Annual Review of Applied Linguistics , Volume 29 , March 2009 , pp. 37 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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