What's your opinion on whether or not English should be the official language of the U.S.?

Question

I'm writing a paper on this topic and would just like some opinions on whether or not English should be the official language of the U.S. and why or why not. I'm for the idea of making it the official language.
Thnks much!!

Answer 1

yes it should. it is the defacto language right now, all schools teach English, all business uses English as there main language, the military states English must be spoken during duty hours and dealing with the government English is the language.

Answer 2

English should be the official language. If everyone is speaking the same language then the government and business operate much more smoothly. English has always been the accepted language of this country. If someone wants to move to America then they must accept that learning English is a requirement for coming here. If you don't like some of the rules then stay where you are or move to Canada. You don't have to move here.

Answer 3

I think this goes beyond the emotional debate of whether English is our heritage or whether the language should be Spanish, French, Chinese or what ever. We, a nation under one rule , standardize a lot of things such as measurement, road and highway systems, currency, laws and so on. Without some kind of standardization, it would be total confusion. Language is one of the items that needs to be standardized so we can communicate and operate efficiently.

This is nothing new to Canadians who are experiencing some major friction between people in Quebec and the rest of the country. At times, this seems to tear the country apart because of that. Currently, Quebec's official language is French but the rest of the country is English.

Answer 4

It would be a most sensible and reasonable thing to do. Every other country in the world has an official language (or languages, like Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, etc). The natural historical language for the USA is English, because the colonies and the country founded by those colonies are, indeed, English.

Answer 5

Well English was the language of the first settlers aside from the Native Indians. This nation was founded in and on the english language. There must be some type of order in all things including language else chaos would reign. In our world of "politically correct" issues we are creating a chaotic society trying to cater to the vast population of a diverse nature. I'm all for diversity in that I respect another's beliefs and traditions, however, there must be a standard to abide by to keep order and not confusion. If you were to go to Spain there is no Spanish as a second language. You either learn to speak the countries language or too bad. It is possible to live in a diverse society but there has to be a standard for all to abide by. The 10 Commandments were given to Moses for the Children of Israel in order for them to have a standard whereby to be governed. This is the standard that was set by the Lord and we can choose not to abide by them and then suffer the consequences. Just because someone thought that the 10 Commandments did not apply to them etc... The Lord did not change them because of a diverse society. They are a constant. Just because society says it isn't right does not make it wrong.

Answer 6

Personally, I think before anyone is granted their green card, they should know the English language. Yes, I think English should be the official language of the U.S. There is several versions of it of course, as one person stated, but give me a break, its all freaking English. If you were to go to another country, don't you think they want you to know their language? Yes, of course they do. Go down into Mexico, a remote part of Mexico and get lost. See how fast your butt stays lost because no one can understand you. And, it would be your fault for not knowing THEIR language. Yes, were the home of the free, blah blah blah, but the general populace as a whole speaks English. Next think you know every dang road sign will be in 50 different languages, the phone books will have 50 different languages and we'll be forced to learn every dag um language in the world in school as mandatory. Jeez

Answer 7

Yes, english should be the official language. You can't keep a country intact if you're having a groups of immigrants who do not wish to integrate into a country, but just want to live in the country and be isolated from everyone else. It should be the official language, and people should be required to speak it in order to gain citizenship.

Answer 8

I think it would be a bad idea. Businesses should not be required to use any particular language, except that which they choose and can conduct the most business possible. Government: If people do not know the laws or regulations of the nation, how do they participate? One exception: since only citizens can vote, ballots in English only.

Also, what words are English? Which words would be banned? Tamale? Omelette? Vodka? Aren't these foreign words?

Answer 9

English should definitely be the official language of the U.S. How can we except to be a united melting pot country if we can't communicate with one another? Our forebears had to learn English when they emigrated to this country? Why should things be any different now in that sense, especially with our wonderful 21st century technology to facilitate the learning process? Pat Buchanan raised some valid concerns in his recent book about the subject.

Answer 10

Yes it should be. If we don't have a official language, how will people understand others and street signs? I used to live on the Mexican border, and all the immigrant who couldn't speak and read English, were always causing wreaks. My husband and I were hit by a immigrant the was trying to turn down a one way street. That is one example. Communication is very important.