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Should English Become the United States’ Official Language
English as an official and international language
Should English Become the United States’ Official Language
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It's Time to Declare English the Official Language "In no way would having English as the official language intrude upon anyone's private life, business, or day-to-day living. Official English applies only to the conduct of government business." -S.I. Hayakawa America today is a melting pot of different societies. Everywhere, in every city and in every state, there are Germantowns, and Chinatowns, and Greektowns. America has certainly developed into one big multicultural society. With the many different cultures, come the many different languages as well. When a person imagines the language of the United States, naturally most believe that English is the national language. America, however, does not have an official language. According to the Center of Immigration Studies, more than 300 languages are currently spoken in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration in the United States is a positive event that cannot be altered no matter what actions are taken against it. Immigration, in fact, has many positive influences upon this great nation. With the positive effects on this country also come the harmful effects. If America wants to continue to live harmoniously with the multitude of different cultures, the first step would be to make English the official language of the United States of America. Today, 1.9 billion people speak the English language; more than one-third of humanity (U.S. Bureau of the Census). English is also the national language of many countries- countries with a multiple of different cultures- including India and several populous countries in Africa. People in those countries use English to conduct common and o... ... middle of paper ... ...for our flag. It was not easy, but they did it; the beautiful thing was we were united. A World War I Veteran told me that when he came to this country from Poland, he did not speak a word of English, nor did his parents. He said he learned English and spoke it well enough to get by. “This is America,” he said, “and it is only right to honor its language.” When asked if he felt if his love and pride for his own country had faltered, he gave a stern “no.” English is the language of freedom, commerce and opportunity around the world. Declaring English the official language of the United States of America will honestly do no harm. In the end, only positive effects could come out of the measure because the day-to-day lives of a common citizen would rarely be altered. Declaring English the national language is the right and honorable thing to do. Now let's do it.
In this country, we live in a mix culture and a mix race. When we walk out in the street, the first thing we notice is people from different ethnicities. The United States has always been the country where we come to make our dreams come true. Yet we never forget the country we came from. The languages is one thing we do not forget about our country but we should also know the English language. In this country it is essential for a person to know 2 or more languages. Regardless of how many languages we know, we all have a language we prefer over the other.
Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.
From the time the Pilgrims landed in this great nation at Plymouth Rock, immigrants have been culturally diverse and have spoken many languages. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they did not know how to communicate with the natives. Through intense study the natives learned the Pilgrims’ language. Even with the common language they were still a melting pot of different culture. Some would say that America has gotten over the language/ cultural barriers and now almost everyone speaks the common language of English, but there are still many immigrants who do not know English. Bilingual education is put into public schools for this reason, so that immigrant children can be assimilated to English gradually. The national language should be English instead of the official language because America has prided herself in being very diverse. If we take away the diversity, then we take away the core values that America has always had since her founding.
The society will be less divided and will function better under a common language. Although English-only movement has close connections to restrictionist, anti-immigration organizations, which suggests that the English-only movement has a wider, more far-reaching, and more negative agenda than simply advocating an official English language policy, English should be the official language of United States for two main reasons: first, In 1990 US census reported that 97.1 % of the US population speak English; second and most importantly, making English the official language of the United States refers solely to the language of the government, not of the people, private business, classrooms, or more. In addition, declare English the official language of the United States would make easier business and negotiations, more people will be able to participate in democracy system, the population will have a better understanding of laws, and the diversity of languages spoken in the US will not be affect, indeed, it would have an
The United States is made up of many different ethic groups. These groups vary from Latinos, Asian American, African American, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and etc. These ethnic groups come into America speaking many different languages. However, many people are still surprised to learn that the United States has no official language. Many assume that English is the official language of the United States. But despite efforts over the years, the United States has no official language. Because the United States has no official language, it is suffering with large costs. These large costs will lead us on a road to wasteful government expenses, language battles that fuel ethnic resentment, and in the long run serious ethnic and linguistic separatist movements. An official English legislation is the answer to the problem.
It seems that this topic has been a heated debate for the past couple of decades, which has caused some division over the issue. I learned that there are a variety of pros and cons that you can argue about this issue. I chose to be a part of the pro English side for three reasons: I believe that making English our official language (1) would allow the education system to focus on English as the primary language, (2) it would unite our country in regards to racial discrimination, and (3) our government and business operations would be a little more streamlined.
In recent years, large numbers of immigrants have migrated into the USA from Mexico, Philippine, Vietnam, China, and other counties. As of 2009, immigrants comprised 12.5% (38.5 million) of the total U.S. population (Batalova and Aaron par. 7). In 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau found that 50.4% of children younger than the age of one were Hispanic, black, Asian American, or belonging to other minority groups (Morello and Ted par. 2), and more than 60 million people who are 5 years old and older spoke a language other than English at home (Camille 3). Faced with the cultural diversity brought by immigrants, many nativists worry that the United States will lose the English language as an important core of a common cultural unity. With the help of organizations such as U.S. English and ProEnglish, the English-only movement is experiencing its second resurgence since the 1980’s.
English as the official language of the United States could benefit the U.S. Government and America as a whole. America has long since been a multicultural nation and has been an English speaking nation since it was founded. The constitutional and federal documents are all in English, which furthers the American people, believing English should be our official language. The majority of states already have English as their official language, for English has always provided a much needed cohesion to our diverse citizens since it was founded.
English becoming the official Language of the United States is not just a controversial topic, it is necessary to keep America alive. American history and tradition is falling, and the ground on which she was founded is slowly fading. Americans must wake up to the importance of preserving the history of their culture. America is considered to be the greatest country in the world by even some who are not Americans. The “American Dream” is something people fantasize over all around the world. In order to keep the desire to be American, one must truly understand what it takes to be American. English is essential in living the American life. English should be the official language of the United States to give the people what they want, to recognize the historic role, and to limit controversy.
Language has always been deeply surrounded in each person, as language can define where one comes from and his or her culture. It is also an active part of every moment of one’s life since it is how a person expresses oneself through speech. The English language has long been affiliated with the United States of America and its people. Some people are surprised to find out, though, that the United States of America does not have and never has had, an official language. In recent years, many debates began to declare English as an official language of the United States. James Crawford, who is a monolingual speaker, implies that it is not necessary to declare English the official language of America in his essay "Official English Legislation:
Everyone knows that America is called the “Melting Pot”, so naturally we have people from all different countries, who speak all different languages. Since before the United States was even established, there has been a heated argument on whether or not we should make English the national language. Making English the national language will not work, because, historically, it wasn’t the original language, most of our ancestors didn’t even speak it, and it erases people's culture and heritage. North America was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and because of this, we can’t justify making the national language English, when the original Americans didn’t speak it. When Christopher Columbus came to America, there were over 300 languages being spoken by the natives.
According to the Article “One nation, one language?” written by Susan Headden, in 1994, 8.7 percent of Americans were born in other countries, the highest percentage since before World War II. So keeping in mind just about how many immigrants the United States roughly has, at least 85 percent speaks a native language instead of learning English. Since America has no ‘official language’, all migrants entering seem to mix in the midst of the billions of people from different backgrounds. If immigrants hoping to adopt the American way of life were required to speak English
It has been adopted by different sectors making it one of the most used languages in the globe. This has been attributed to its effective nature, easy learning and rich history. However, conservative groups exist who argues that there should be global language since it may cause the emergence of superior cultures. Nevertheless, it is evident that different cultures ranging from the early polish immigrants, the African American community, the advertising and media will greatly benefit from the globalization of the English language. This will prove in the end that English is indeed a global
Because of culture diversity and no authenticity of the english language, it would be impractical and worthless to set english as the national language of the United States. America. Melting Pot. Now, envision that pot void of all cultural diversity and relevance. Any type of language serves no purpose of obtaining the title of national language.
Even though there are advantages as well as disadvantages, the need for international language for communication, politics, economics and security is necessary and English is the best “language candidate” for that function. English is a language spread all over the world and it is used by millions and millions of speakers. According to my opinion, people should use English as a tool to communicate with all cultures but every country must keep their culture and language is a great part of it. In conclusion, language defines identity of a country and everyone should keep their language and explore others.