Official Language Research Paper
"RESOLVED: THAT THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES ENACT LEGISLATION MAKING AMERICAN ENGLISH THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."
This sentiment was established by the English Only movement, which began in 1981 when Senator Hayakawa sponsored a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States. Variations on his proposal have been before Congress ever since; the Language of Government Act has been pending before the House and Senate since 1991. Despite increasing interest in the concept of a monolingual nation, arguments for the adoption of a national language have been mostly anecdotal and have overwhelmingly been based on misconceptions about language. The territory that the U.S. …show more content…
It enables them not only to explore their roots and associate more closely with fellow speakers of the language, but also to overcome feelings of alienation with a sense of pride in their community. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the world, approximately 6000 languages are spoken, of which only about 600 are confidently expected to survive this century. As our languages experience attrition, our cultures will simply follow suit. Our society has been described as one that is dominated by a loss of cultural and intellectual diversity, in which politically dominant languages and cultures simply overwhelm indigenous local ones. Any further legislation would only augment the embattlement that these cultures already …show more content…
For this reason, it's shortsighted to demean and destroy the competencies of bilingual and multilingual people.
Throughout our nation's history, we have recognized various languages that have made their way to the United States. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids abridging the privileges and immunities of naturalized citizens. American English laws would violate these constitutional rights, founded on certain liberties, which we as Americans believe to be undeniable to every citizen.
Some have supported the establishment of a national language on the basis that a universally English speaking populace would be easier to hire and that there is now a widespread resistance to learning our common language. However, making English the official language would do nothing to increase the number of English classes, nor would it teach more people how to speak English. This legislation is not necessary for enriching people with the English
This sentiment was established by the English Only movement, which began in 1981 when Senator Hayakawa sponsored a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States. Variations on his proposal have been before Congress ever since; the Language of Government Act has been pending before the House and Senate since 1991. Despite increasing interest in the concept of a monolingual nation, arguments for the adoption of a national language have been mostly anecdotal and have overwhelmingly been based on misconceptions about language. The territory that the U.S. …show more content…
It enables them not only to explore their roots and associate more closely with fellow speakers of the language, but also to overcome feelings of alienation with a sense of pride in their community. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the world, approximately 6000 languages are spoken, of which only about 600 are confidently expected to survive this century. As our languages experience attrition, our cultures will simply follow suit. Our society has been described as one that is dominated by a loss of cultural and intellectual diversity, in which politically dominant languages and cultures simply overwhelm indigenous local ones. Any further legislation would only augment the embattlement that these cultures already …show more content…
For this reason, it's shortsighted to demean and destroy the competencies of bilingual and multilingual people.
Throughout our nation's history, we have recognized various languages that have made their way to the United States. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids abridging the privileges and immunities of naturalized citizens. American English laws would violate these constitutional rights, founded on certain liberties, which we as Americans believe to be undeniable to every citizen.
Some have supported the establishment of a national language on the basis that a universally English speaking populace would be easier to hire and that there is now a widespread resistance to learning our common language. However, making English the official language would do nothing to increase the number of English classes, nor would it teach more people how to speak English. This legislation is not necessary for enriching people with the English