Should English be the official language of America?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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<p>Firstly, the only effect I see of making a language official is to solidify the identity of that country–that is, formally making it official should arise because it’s the normative language, not to be used to some end. (To me, an official language can’t or at least shouldn’t be anything more than a statement of the dominant language of business, conversation, etc.)</p>

<p>Taking this viewpoint as a basis, if we’re going to be so flustered about making a decision on whether or not English should be our official language, I say yes, it should be. Claiming an official language isn’t a political move, it’s simply a formal declaration of the <em>dominant</em> language of our culture. (For ease of argument, let’s not get technical about whether America has a singular culture, multiple cultures, etc.) Of course there are always people who speak other languages, and even those who may not even know English. But for pretty much anyone who thinks/dreams of coming to America, they almost always think of learning English. </p>

<p>If you want to succeed in this country (or even just want to take a job that requires more than just manual labor), you need to learn English. Of course, I’m speaking broadly, totally ignorant of any exceptions like people who’ve done well without learning English, whatever. </p>

<p>Think of another country that has some other culture in it, like France for example. France has a growing Muslim/Arabic population. Does that mean they should forego claiming French as their national language? Certainly not. Of course you can argue that our English doesn’t “belong to us” as much as French does to France because we didn’t really invent it as closely as they did, we just came from Britain, whatever. However, Canada and Ireland claim English as their official language (or at least as one of them), and we wouldn’t say either of them were the ones who really <em>invented</em> the English
language. </p>

<p>TL;DR: If we’re so upset about deciding about it, I’d say to go through with it. English is the norm for the overwhelming majority of Americans.</p>

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<p>English should be the official language because language is not only a means of communication but also a spirit that gathers people together.
Imo, diversity should be established on the clearly defined and shared identity. Of course the melting pot argument is agreeable but it means nothing if there is no shared value.</p>

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<p>What language are the people in Maine speaking now?</p>

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<p>I highly doubt that immigrants would be intimidated by making an already semi-official language actually official. After all, even if it isn’t technically official right now, it might as well be. From an immigrant’s standpoint, from anyone’s standpoint, it doesn’t really make a practical difference whether English is the official language. That the US had no official language, had no influence on my parents’ decision to come here, and they certainly didn’t expect to get anywhere in this country without English.</p>

<p>Having said that, the only possible goal for “officializing” English would be to make a statement. (As you can probably tell from the previous paragraph, I doubt this statement would have any real effect.) I don’t see a point in making an ineffective statement. Nor do I agree with the statement itself. :P</p>