English Official Language

The United States is a nation built by immigrants. Often called the Great Melting Pot, the U.S. is renowned for its ability to soak up people from countries all around the world and still remain distinctly American. In fact, many argue that the mix of cultures is what makes America America. Some people, however, fear that potentially too much of one culture could dominate America. English has always been the primary language used in the United States, but as the number of non-English speaking immigrants increases, many Americans feel the need to make English official not only in practice, but in law. While making English the official language of the United States would alleviate some issues, such as the cost of translation, the option for …show more content…
Due in part to the past great imperialism of Britain, and later also America, English is used all over the world. The language gaps between the once-colonies have slowly been filling over time to create an acting international language. As the world becomes more and more aware of the predominance of English, especially in educated communities, English usage spreads farther and farther. Accordingly, in English’s largest home, America, English spreads more quickly than ever. In a study preformed by Lieberson, the United States has the highest rate of mother-tongue shift toward (English) monolingualism than anywhere else on the planet. (Immigrant America pg 183). In fact, 95% of all Americans speak …show more content…
Immigrants cannot learn English overnight. If English was made to be the official language, immigrants would be required to attend many weeks of ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. However, ESL classes are expensive, and few immigrants have money to pay for them when they first arrive. Immigrants also clearly have needs besides learning English. They need to feed, house, and clothe themselves, for example. To fulfill these basic needs takes money, which cannot be made by sitting in expensive lessons. However, as soon as immigrants can afford ESL classes, most hurry to take them. In Los Angeles, 1986, 40,000 immigrant adults were being turned away from the ESL program; and this at the same time California was passing proposition 63 to make English the official state language. (Immigrant America pg 202). As one university professor put it, passing a law to declare English the official language of the United states “seems like passing a law to declare that air or oxygen is the official respiratory gas.” (Point/Counterpoint pg