Florida is having a language moment in 2026. But what language is it?
A new state law requires driving tests to be English-only. Florida, the state with the third largest foreign-born population, behind California and Texas, enacted the English-only driving tests in February. The law banished tests in Spanish and Creole.
Then there is a new play in Miami, “English Only,” which looks back at the language wars in Miami-Dade County in the 1980s amid the Mariel boatlift, and an English-only law on the books for 13 years. The Miami New Drama play wraps up its run Feb. 22 at South Beach’s Colony Theatre as Miami continue to communicate in many languages…