%0 Journal Article
%T ¡°'The Unilingual Republic of the World'. Reactions to the 1872 Proposal to Make English the National Language of Japan" [¡°'La rep¨²blica monoling¨¹e del mundo': respuestas a la propuesta de 1872 de transformar el ingl¨¦s en la lengua nacional de Jap¨®n"
%A John E. Joseph
%J Revista Argentina de Historiograf¨ªa Ling¨¹¨ªstica
%D 2011
%I Revista Argentina de Historiograf¨ªa Ling¨¹¨ªstica
%X In 1872, Mori Arinori, the newly-appointed Japanese ambassador to Washington, wrote to the linguist William Dwight Whitney concerning Mori¡¯s proposal to make English the national language of Japan, replacing Japanese. Whitney¡¯s response welcomed the idea of teaching English throughout Japan but explained why, from a linguist¡¯s point of view, Japanese neither could nor should be replaced. He was also unreceptive to Mori¡¯s suggestions for regularising English, levelling out strong past-tense verb forms and etymological spellings. Mori nevertheless had his proposal published in American newspapers, where it received widespread attention, including a mention in President Grant¡¯s Second Inaugural Address.
%K English language
%K Japanese language
%K Universal language
%K National language.
%U http://www.rahl.com.ar/Revistas/I%20-%202011/joseph-RAHL-%281%292011.pdf