The Need for an Official Language
Language is the most important media in human communication. It makes it much easier to exchange ideas. Imagine if everyone in this society spoke his own language. What would our society looks like? Probably not as prosperious as what we are now because business is very difficult to do due to the fact that all documents have to be printed in different languages.
Our whole society would be split up because there is no communication between each other. The fact that California has immigrants from different countries, makes different languages to be used in our society. This causes us lots of trouble.
Printing the materials in two or three different languages costs our government lots of money, in addition, it makes the operation of the government inefficient. Everyone have to suffer from it because all this money come from the tax.
Using different languages also breaks the unity of our society. People are separated by what kind of language they speak; for example, people who speak only Chinese will live in China Town. Those people also tend to hang around with the same kind of people, those who speak Chinese. There is no communiaction between them and the outside. Later on, different kinds of small groups will be formed. Different gruops will have conflict since they don't share the same culture, habit and language. The harmony of the whole society is going to break. Development and growth of our society will slow down, and everyone have to ...
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.
Currently in the United States, about one in four, or twenty-six percent, of American adults can speak a language other than English (McComb). To be bilingual means to possess the ability to speak two languages, and a society that implements a bilingual approach is one that adapts means of everyday life, ranging from street signs to education, to the inevitabilities of more than one language. The United States is in debate on whether or not to adopt Spanish in conjunction with all English communication. In my opinion, to assume a bilingual society would create a separation in our country with two competing languages. There are multiple perspectives on the issue and to accurately form an opinion requires consideration of numerous aspects. The decision to undertake Spanish alongside English in all facets in the United States should be constructed on bilingual history, statistics, legal implications, supportive and defensive arguments, education dynamics, cultural factors, and the necessary provisions to our current society needed to implement such a system.
Language is part of the few benefits that immigrants bring with their culture. United States benefits from cultures of the many immigrants that migrate to the U.S. the variation of different languages brings great benefit to the U.
Policy in the United States towards foreign languages has long been a complicated process. The nation was founded by polyglot immigrants and welcomed, to varying degrees, many subsequent waves of immigrants speaking languages familiar and foreign. Most immigrants learned English and despite efforts to maintain their mother tongue, the “permissiveness and apathy” of American society towards second languages allowed the gradual erosion of many mother tongues. English, although the common language in schools, the courts, government, and the business community in the United States, is not the official language of our country. This fact juxtaposes paradoxically with the necessity of speaking English for success in our society, and the dying out of many languages native to immigrants after the third generation. Since no official policy at the federal level governs the official language of the United States, nor the teaching of foreign languages until after the Second World War, language education in the U.S. remained a patchwork of local policies.
What is the official language or the United States? 90% of the people would answer English, but guess again. The United States doesn’t have an official language. The subject of English as the official language of the United States has been covered intensively by the world press over the past decade. Declaring it the official language of United States can make an improvement in many areas, and is very relevant for future generations. Even though English-only movement has close connections to restrictionist and anti-immigration organizations. Which suggests that the 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 because making it the official language of the United States refers solely to the language of the government, not of the people, private business, classrooms, etc., and in 1990 US census reported that 97.1% of the US population speak English.
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.
Living in California comes with a social-cultural belief that the only approved and acceptable language to be spoken is English. Looking at our schools and diversely multi-cultural society it’s quite the opposite. From an education perspective we see the influx of languages and students either born or migrating to America. Most non-English speaking children today are now born within the United States. Our civil rights state that we are equal in human rights to receive the same treatment even in educational programs. In California our primary language taught in public school education is English based. Our English Ethnocentrism brought on the Nationality Act of 1906 that required immigrants to speak English for naturalization purposes which lead to the Security Act of 1950 that required reading and writing as well in English.
“Bilingualism for the individual is fine, but not for a country”, claims S.I Hayakawa in his article “Bilingualism in America”, published in USA Today in 1989. A language is a systematic means of communication. It is used to express ourselves and communicate with others. More than 300 languages are spoken in the United States but English is one of the common bonds among the Americans of all backgrounds. English is the language of freedom, commerce and opportunity around the world. English is the official language of 51 nations and 27 states in the United States of America. Most scholars believe that English is the common language in the United States of America. This is true in fact but not in law. The founders of the United States of America were aware of the importance of the language of nation building. A nation’s language was thought to be the essence of national culture. There were movements to make English as the official language but failed in their attempt. Making English as the official language promotes unity among the people, serves as a means of communication for immigrants, helps in business, and cut government spending on bilingualism.
One of the things that makes the United States of America the wonderful country that it is, is the melting pot of cultures and overall diversity. We are a country founded by immigrants, which originally formed this country after our independence from England, and even though we are a country that is diverse and divided in many ways, we share one common aspect, and that is the use of the English language. This is why legislation should be passed stating that English is the official language of the United States. While both sides of the issue offer valid points, it is very possible that the decision of placing English as the official language could be used as a middle ground between the two, whenever it comes to evaluating
The government implementing English as the official legal language of America is imperative because a conformity of communication within our borders is needed to unify the vast diversity. Our mighty country was founded on providing all citizens with equality including inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The United States is a progressive nation that welcomes people from far and wide to come and savor the God-given freedoms enjoyed by all. With all of the diversity from the countless immigrants coming in to our port cities, looking for a more prosperous future, a necessary tie is needed to bring the people of the nation together. Interaction with others --communicating-- is what gets everyone through their days and is essential to living. Without communication between people daily, the lack of communication would bring consequences throughout the world. Transactions among businesses would not be completed, sharing a story with a friend would never happen, the difficulty of understanding a problem of a neighbor, all of these and other necessities in daily life would never happen. The country, which we as citizens have created, needs to implement conformity among ethnicities to lessen the large variances of society to unite the entire nation.
Through the years the United States has attracting people from all over the world with the promise of american dreams and freedom. With them, these immigrants have brought their families, culture and their foreign languages. Whats astonishing about the United States is that they accept these new cultures and all that it brings with open hands. But what if the U.S. Senate was to disapprove of different languages being spoken in the united states? What if english was the only official language of the United States? The cultural richness that we have slowly developed through hundreds of years in the United States would surely decrease. There are citizens of the U.S who would surely denounce this change and there are those who would welcome this change without hesitation. With this change would come equality and unity but there would also be a large amount of commotion.
"By emphasizing the importance of a common language, we safeguard a proud legacy and help to ensure that America's future will be as great as her past." Ronald Reagan described it best. A vital part of any culture is language. Without language, there would be no communication, no conversation, no debate. I believe when immigrants come to America, a crucial part of their acceptance is whether or not they know the English language. In a census done by the US Census Bureau in 2011, it showed that 79% of the population speaks only English at home while only 21% spoke a language other than English at home. Meanwhile, of that 21%, 58.2% spoke English very well (Ryan). This shows how vital the English language is to American culture and how it is imperative for English to be a requirement for immigrants when they come to America. Not only when people immigrate here, but to other countries as well, I believe that it is, in some ways, a common courtesy to learn the native language. In comparison to other countries you can immigrate to, America is one of the best. America
All Students Should be Required to Study a Foreign Language Educators historically have argued over the propriety of offering various academic courses. One recent yet continuing argument on American college campuses tends to pit school against school, professor against professor, student against student, school against professor, professor against student and student against school. The issue is whether or not courses in a foreign language should be required to attain a Bachelor's degree. Some believe the idea is absurd, while others believe it is a progressive move toward 21st century education.
The role of language in the creation of a national identity is complex, controversial, but fundamentally powerful. National languages are not simply means of communication; rather they can also act as a symbolic representation of a national identity, providing insight into a nation’s perceived religious, ethnic and historical status. This essay will consider the role language plays in a national identity, questioning the power it holds and the implications it has on the notion of nationalism. Additionally, it will address whether or not the ability to plan language in relation to a national identity is really as powerful as it seems by probing into the process of language planning – what elements are considered, who is responsible for carrying out the process and what effect does it
Over the years English inarguably has reached a status of a global language and commonly is characterized as a lingua franca. It has become the language that is spoken by millions of people all over the world; as the mother tongue, as the language used for international communication and as the language learned in the millions of schools.