A Question of English Language in America

Throughout the history of America, the United States has been one of the most developed countries in the international community. Success through economics and diplomacy has improved America as a political entity and a social one. However, it is very surprising that English has not been established as an official language in America considering the number of people who speak English in everyday situations. English should definitely be legislated as the official language of America because of the economic benefits through a better budget, and the social implication to learn English and master the language.

An Inquiry into the Use of English in America

America has been known to be a very diverse country through the east and west coast. We have Latin American culture, Asian Culture, and Islamic Culture in our society which creates such a special community. Even though the entire world gathers together in America, it would definitely be a good decision to legislate English as the official language because of the economic benefits. In the year 2000, President Bill Clinton signed executive order 13166 which mandated public services to hire interpreters for those who do not understand English (Clinton, 2000). This is a prime example of the expenditure of funds for an unnecessary cause. An article in The Economist published on October 3rd, 2015, elaborates how America spends more than $4.5 billion every year because of translation and interpreting services ("The Cost of Translation", 2015). This ranges from health care to real estate which is a big chunk of our budget. The translation services and the funds come from local governments and cities to spend. This derives from taxpayer collections which is ridiculous when you consider how much of this money can go into education or infrastructure. In 2002, 15% of the election budget went into translating ballots, and making it simple for all immigrants of different ethnicities and cultures. Federal and local governments are basically spoon-feeding immigrants and giving them a reason not to learn the English Language. Almost all foreign countries in the world have institutions that teach the English language, but immigrants still don’t learn the language and rely on the government to guide them.

The Social Implications of Legislating English

Furthermore, making English the official language will encourage immigrants to learn English. Not only will this integrate immigrants into the community, but it will also improve their lives. This can help immigrants find a job, communicate with their co-workers, and improve their lives financially and socially. Unfortunately, second-generation immigrants have a hard time when they become adults because of their parents not knowing the English Language. In Amy Tan’s story “Mother Tongue”, she writes “And I believe that it affected my results on achievement tests, IQ tests, and the SAT” (Tan, 1990). Amy Tan’s mother was very poor at English, therefore relied a lot on her daughter which resulted in poorer test scores and even just knowing the language. This has occurred for many second-generation immigrants and it should be the responsibility of the parents to be role models for their children. Teaching their children to foster English as the official language of America and to revitalize the community. A report by the Washington Times on December 31, 2014, analyzes the academic impacts of second-generation immigrants who have parents that aren’t trying to learn English (Smith, 2014). Many of these second-generation immigrants have trouble finding jobs, improving test scores, and benefiting their work ethic. More than 25% of immigrants have trouble speaking English and the number of people who can’t speak English only continues to grow. Not only will legislating English as the official language help immigrants learn the language, but it will also help their children with their academic success and future.

Counterarguments and Rebuttals

Many individuals will argue that legislating English as the official language will limit immigrants in their use of their home language and will create a social burden for these immigrants. However, legislating and adopting English as the official language does not mean that it will eliminate other languages. It just implies that English will be the dominant language over other languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. Through documents and political procedures, everything will be in English so these immigrants will have to try and learn the language. This is very beneficial for America where we save money and don’t need to spend billions of dollars on translation. Professor of Social Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, James Flint explains that if English becomes the official language of America, this can help many immigrants with their current problem of communication in many establishments (Flint, 2015). Many immigrants will still be able to expand their cultural background and share it with their children as no infringements will be created from making English the official language.

Conclusion

In retrospect, legislating English as the official language will have many benefits in America. This can help our American economy prosper even more because of the amount of money we will save from eliminating the funds through translation and interpretations. Immigrants can communicate efficiently with the community through a wide variety of everyday establishments and businesses. Immigrants will also have the freedom to spread their knowledge regarding their background culture and hometown. Even second-generation immigrants will become better individuals as making English the official language will encourage first-generation immigrants to improve their use of English. It should definitely be a goal for politicians and lawmakers to incentivize the legislation of English as the official language.

References

• Clinton, B. (2000). Executive Order 13166—Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency. Federal Register. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/2000.html
• Flint, J. (2015). Communication Challenges and Language Policies. University of California, Irvine. Retrieved from https://www.uci.edu/language-policies
• Smith, J. (2014, December 31). The Academic Impacts of Language Barriers. The Washington Times. Retrieved from https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31
• Tan, A. (1990). Mother Tongue. The Threepenny Review. Retrieved from https://www.threepennyreview.com/tocs/90.html
• The Cost of Translation. (2015, October 3). The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/2015/10/03