America is the home to a number of cultures, race, and languages. On a daily basis one can hear Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and a variety of Caribbean dialects in the workplace, schools, homes and the neighborhoods. The truth is that the United States is the “melting pot” for a number of immigrants who bring different cultural and linguistic framework to the language that is spoken in the United States. Each cultural group brings new variations to the language and culture of the United States and has created a "bi-nationalism" concept. For some critics, the United States is no longer a “melting pot.” The country is now a salad bowl as the different racial and ethnic groups no longer blend into the American culture, but have instead brought distinctive features to the language and maintain these features. The changes in the language structure will eventually change the culture of the American society. The United States should not embrace the present changes that have increased "bi-lingualism," but instead the country should adopt English as the official language and this will unify the country.
The English language is the common language that is spoken by the majority of countries around the world. Many countries have made English the official language as it allows for unity in international ventures. By adopting the English language, immigrants prove that there is an acceptance of the American culture and the American way of life. English is connecting factor that unites native-born Americans to the immigrants. It is that common element that concretizes the love of democratic ideals and freedom and in turn allows Americans to feel a sense of purpose. In essence, English serves as the foundation to communicating with people of different cultural backgrounds. The common language allows persons to voice opinions and build trust while reducing the challenges that may surface from bigotry and racial hostility among people of different cultures. Therefore laws must be enacted to enforce the use of English as the official language. The debate on making English the official language is controversial, but Michael DiChiara notes that “English-only laws and laws which prohibit the use of other languages are not new to the U.S.” (DiChara 103) and should not warrant the controversy that exists on making English the official language.
One may argue that other countries have a number of official languages and English is not the official language. Countries such as India, Canada, and Belgium have more than one official language and this does not detract from the development of the country. But people in these countries will argue that being multilingual can cause a number of challenges as it is leads to violence among the people. The violence will undoubtedly arise from the disunity in the country and the inability to communicate effectively with other people. In Canada the dual language problem continues as Quebec threatens to separate itself from the rest of the country if the country does not embrace French as the official language. The truth is that bilingualism will become a challenge is people are divided in their views on the official language in the country. The United States is not immune to these problems as the number of immigrants continues to rise in the country and this could lead to different amassing more immigrants. Eventually, the states will become divided in the choice of the language to use.
Despite the arguments that the United States represents the principle of “out of many, we are one” there is a need to have a common language that will strengthen the foundations of the country. Brandon Bryce argues that it would be in the best interest of the country to encourage “new migrants to learn the language of the country they have adopted” (Bryce 3). The ultimate goal in this venture would be to improve the lives of these immigrants and also the native-born citizens. Additionally, the acquisition of English as the official language would save the country billions of dollars in federal spending as “the direct cost of translators and bilingual education alone are billions, and many of these costs are born by local governments” (Bryce 4). The country has spent billions of dollars during the 2002 elections to hire translators and to create ballots in different languages. In addition, former president Clinton created the Executive Order 13166, which allows health care providers of Medicaid and Medicaid to employ translators for patients who require these services. This money could be spent on other urgent matters had the immigrants learned to embrace English as a part of the new culture.
Advocates on making English the official language of the United States argue that “English forms the glue that keeps America together” (Baron 1) and reduce the cost of spending on translations. But, immigrants have always managed to communicate with everyone despite the difference in the language. In fact, the society has successfully gotten more than ninety-seven percent of the population to use English in formal settings and without any legislation (Baron 1). This fact leads to a large part of the arguments against making English the official language in the country. The United States currently operates under the premise that English is the official language of the country and “nearly two-thirds of respondents assumed that English already enjoyed official recognition in the United States Constitution” (Crawford 2). Nonetheless, many immigrants have made attempts to learn this language with having laws to support this motion. But, many immigrants are now retaining their language and moving away from the use of formal English to communicate. But, this does not mean that there are no challenges. The greatest challenge of not having English as the official language would be that eventually, other cultures will become stronger and force their language into the American culture. If this were to happen, the development of the country would change as Native Americans who do not speak a foreign language will have to second place to the immigrants. The United States government should not have to accommodate the immigrants and their language, but instead the country should take a stance and ensure that immigrant learn English when they arrive in the country.
In concluding, English is the official language for most countries. Those who do not fall into these categories will find that there is unwarranted spending on translators and on translating a number of ideas in order to bring about a common ground for communicating officially in the country. One must begin to accept the fact that the increase in the immigrants to the country will create language barriers. The immigrants who do not wish to acquire English as their second language continues to develop their native language and this development will lead to changes in the use of English as the common language in the United States. The truth is that assimilation of culture and language is important to the identity of the United States the country offers political, educational, and cultural opportunities for immigrants, But, American citizens cannot sit by and allow the immigrants to change the language of the country by forcing Americans to adjust to the language of the immigrants. If this were to happen, then America would become a bilingual and multilingual country and the government would have to spend much more to accommodate the natives. In order to reduce the unnecessary spending and the language diversity, Americans should move towards embracing English as the official language and enforce the language so that immigrants will have no choice but to adopt English as their official language
References
Baron, Dennis “Don’t Make English Official – Ban it Instead” (1996) The Washington
Post Web 6 Apr 2016 < http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/ban.htm>
Bryce, Brandon Why English should be the official language of the United States (2014) Web 6
Apr 2016 <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31/why-english-should-be-official-language-united-sta/>
Crawford, James Language Freedom and Restriction: A Historical Approach to the Official
Language Controversy, (2003) Chapter 2, Effective Language Education Practices and Native Language Survival (pp. 9-22),edited by Jon Reyhner. Choctaw, OK: Native American Language Issues.
DiChiara, Michael A Modern Day Myth: The Necessity of English as the Official Language, 17
B.C. Third World L.J. 101 (1997), Web 6 Apr 2016 <http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/twlj/vol17/iss1/5>
