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Status of Language Laws in Montana
Section 1. English as official and primary language of state and
local governments.
(1) English is the official and primary language of:
(a) state and local governments;
(b) government officers and employees
acting in the course and scope
of their employment; and
(c) government documents and records.
(2) A state statute, local government ordinance, or state or local government
policy may not require a specific foreign language to be used by government
officers and employees acting in the course and scope of their employment
or for government documents and records or require a specific foreign
language to be taught in a school as a student's primary language.
(3) This section is not intended to violate the federal or state constitutional
right to freedom of speech of government officers and employees acting
in the course and scope of their employment. This section does not prohibit
a government officer or employee acting in the course and scope of employment
from using a language other than English, including use in a government
document or record, if the employee choose, or prohibit the teaching of
other languages in a school for general educational purposes or as secondary
languages.
Source: MONTANA ADVANCE LEGISLATIVE SERVICE, 1995, ACT 319
Language Use in Montana
5.2 percent of this state's residents speak a language other than English.
The most common are:
Spanish or Spanish Creole (10,177 )
German (7,677)
Other Native North American languages (especially Crow) (7,268)
French (incl. Patois, Cajun) (2,542)
Scandinavian languages (1,176)
Italian (667)
Japanese (652)
SOURCE: U.S. Dept of Census S.F. 3
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