Racialization and language policy: The case of the U. S. A. RONALD SCHMIDT, SR. Abstract Employing critical discourse analysis, this paper interrogates the question of whether it is racist to pursue an English-only language policy in the contemporary ideological context of the United States. This question has generated heated controversy in the United States for over two decades. Proponents of bilingualism or linguistic pluralism often charge that Eng- lish-only advocates are motivated by racial animosity and that their Eng- lish-only program is aimed at keeping racialized minorities subordinated and excluded from the country’s civil society and public domains. Official English advocates are adamant in their denunciations of these charges, claiming that their program of linguistic assimilation is inclusive and egali- tarian, while it is the false goal of ‘bilingualism’ that is responsible for maintaining ethno-linguistic social stratification in the United States. The paper goes beyond the contentious question of the subjective motivations behind language policy proposals to examine the discursive social context in which language policy might be systematically linked to societal pro- cesses of racialization through ideology. The analysis points toward the conclusion that a policy of bilingualism has distinct advantages over a pol- icy of English-only in trying to undermine U. S. racialization processes through language policy. Racialization and language policy: The case of the U. S. A. 1 One of the most contentious issues in the recent U. S. culture wars in- volves the charge of racism leveled against efforts to establish an English- only language policy. Reverberating through controversies over bilingual education, linguistic access to political and civil rights, and over cam- paigns to make English the sole official language, this accusation has provoked unusually heated denials and denunciations by English-only advocates. In the context of this heated debate, this paper addresses the Multilingua 21 (2002), 141-161 01678507/2002/021-0141  Walter de Gruyter