Question 1
The US, just like the other nations of the world, is likely to be affected by the issue of globalization. The issue of immigration is a major concern as people continue flooding into the country, whether legal or illegal immigrants. There are various ways through which the people end up in the country. First of all, there is the issue of the American green-card where the country allows a given number of people on an annual basis to come into the country to live, work and stay. These people become citizens of the land. There are also the illegal immigrants who come into the country through the unmarked border points. Such people get into the land and start mingling freely with the residents. This makes them look as if they were legal immigrants and they have an effect on the culture of the people. The US education system also allows international students to come into the land for educational purposes. Of course, these people come along with their own ways of doing things such as entertainment, eating habits, eating habits as well as the religious and cultural aspects. Lastly, the US companies based abroad and within do have exchange programs. Through these programs, the employees can be posted to any country, including the US. This implies that the companies can have employees from different parts of the world, all coming into America.
Besides the immigrants, there are the small groups or minority residents who are all in the country. These include the Indians, Latino Americans or Hispanics, as well as the Asian immigrants. All these people are accommodated onto the country. If the trend continues, it goes without saying that by the year 2050, the country will be harboring so many people from diverse backgrounds, all who will have America as their home. They will be citizens who need to be protected by the law and to enjoy the civil and other human rights that are provided for by the constitution. In other words, the country will be a completely cosmopolitan nation encompassing the phenomenon known as unity in diversity; so many different people al united by the fact that they are citizens of the same country.
With this scenario becoming a reality, it goes without saying that the cultural politics of the land will have to change. For starters, there will not be a single culture that can be said to be the American culture, since all the people will have come with their cultures. Their cultures will interact with the American culture where both will be diluted; each will have to accommodate some aspect of the other. The people will have to live with the acknowledgement that there are differences in cultures and they will have to respect each others’ cultures. As a matter of fact, his has already started in some of the American institutions of higher learning where the student faculties organize events aimed at displaying the cultures from different parts of the world.
The politics of culture will be affected in that the politicians will have no ground on which to base their cultural affiliations. They will not have a choice to stand and claim that the American culture needs to be restored, since everyone would be forced to wonder which culture is to be upheld at the expense of the others. The Culture of the Caucasians will not be seen as the main culture since they will be fewer in number as compared to the minority groups. As such, the only option will be for the politics of culture in the country to change tune and start advocating for unity in diversity. The politics will have to be structured in such a manner that they encourage the people to embrace the change and look upon each other not as brothers due to their cultural similarities but as brothers due to the fact that they are of the same nation. The campaigns will have to encourage people to forget their differences, come together as a nation and forge the way forward as a unified group. Unless this option is adopted, then the cultural politics of America by 2050 will be in total chaos.
Question 2
Different peoples of the world identify themselves with their language. They tend to look at each other as brothers simply because they can understand each other’s tongues. The ethnic groups are also classified in relation to their languages, even in countries where there are many ethnic groups residing in one country, such as the African countries. Language is among the major determinants of a culture of a people.
There are different aspects of language that are related to the culture of the people. For instance, there are some words that can be used symbolically within a given culture. Such words include the forms of greetings, the manner in which to start off a communication process, as well as the way to address different groups of people so as to show respect, authority or even submission. For every culture, there is a way in which the language can be used to bring out what the people value and what they believe in.
Even the international organizations do acknowledge the importance of language in different contexts. For instance, the UN recognizes the six main languages that are official. These include English, Chinese, French, Arabic, Spanish and Russian. This indicates that there is a role that language plays in describing a given people. As such, language should not be despised when the issue of culture comes in. the two go hand in hand and they can never be separated. Language communicates the culture of a people while culture, on the other hand, affects the language of a people.
Based on this argument, I tend to believe that English should be used as the official language. There are different reasons for which this is my assertion, and these are as follows. Many people in the world have an understanding of the English language. In some countries, it is seen as the official language even though the inhabitants of the countries are not native English speakers. For those to whom English is not a first language, they tend to acquire it as the second language. Internationally, the language is recognized as a mode of communication that is well understood by all. As such, it can be rightfully argue that the language has become a common language for the entire world. Those who do not know the language are tempted to know it since they are likely to be left in the dark when they attend international conferences and meetings, in most of which English is used as the main language of communication. Business meetings, leaders’ conventions, summits and global campaigns are mostly carried out in the English language. In as much as there are interpreters to help in translating for those who do not understand the language, the fact remains that the language is the most used and the most preferred for such events.
Of course, there are some differences in the English language as spoken by different people in the different parts of the world. For instance, the American English is quite different from the British English. Similarly, within the given countries in which the language is used, there are different slangs that come up. For instance, the word choice for the African-Americans is quite different from the word choice of the Caucasian Americans. Despite the differences, the bottom line is that they all use the language as the medium of communication and they can perfectly understand each other.
Based on the above account, then there is no reason as to why English should not be taken as the official language, a true depiction of the modern day culture. As already indicated, the language is associated with culture in that it helps in communicating the different aspects of culture and unifying the people by making them understand each other the more. Using this definition, the English language serves all these purposes. It is the language through which the different peoples of the world from different countries find a medium of communication in, it is the language that unites the different cultures around the world, and it is the language that is commonly used around the globe. It, therefore, goes without saying that this is the official language for the new cultural order in the world.
Of course, there are opponents against such an argument, which could claim that there are other languages which are used as well. This factor is not disregarded. However, when the international community wants to communicate something to the rest of the world, it is put in the English language and then translated into the other dialects of the world. This shows that the language can be considered to be more superior, that is why it is used as the main medium of communication.
In a nutshell, this section has sought to argue on the fact that English can be considered to be the official language. Evidence has been provided to assert this fact, even though there can be arguments against it. Nevertheless, it still holds that English is the most popular language and the most commonly used in the world, which elevates it to a position where it can be considered as the official language.
