ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Designating English as the Official Language

Designating English as the Official Language

There are several probable reasons that the fathers of the nation of the United States chose not to designate English as the official language. One of these may have been that the dominance of English was self-evident, rendering an official policy unnecessary. Another possible reason may be that the fathers of the nation respected linguistic diversity and minority rights. The third reason may be that the fathers of the nation were hesitant to offend minorities who had supported the revolutionary cause. The founders opted for a permissive approach. For example, election to the presidency is reserved for persons born in the United States willingness to embrace English and abandon other languages of origin soon became a symbol of national loyalty by immigrants, which shows that immigrants are loyal towards the United States (Crystal, 2000).

Regardless of the original thinking of the fathers of the nation, English has functioned as if it was the official language throughout the history of the United States, and it has often been designated as official for specific purposes. Thus, English has generally possessed the status of the official language, and this is functionally more important than its official designation. This point seems to be missed by many who support official English policies (Coulmas, 2005).

Designating English as the official language of the United States could be considered unconstitutional since approving the bill to make English the official language will require all government documents to be printed only in English; the decision may also interfere with due process. It is imperative to highlight at this point that although there are fewer native speakers of English than of Chinese but English is by far the most commonly found language outside of China. Some estimates ...