Is English the official Language of the USA?

Question

Has it ever been officially voted on, or is it still undecided?

Answer 1

not yet. they voted no on it. congress has their heads in the toilet right now.

Answer 2

There is no official language of the USA. However, some states have voted English into being their states official language.

Answer 3

on the question of the official language, English should be the official language of the United States. My views on Immigration differ greatly than most of the people who think like this but this much I have to give them credit. English is the most important language in the world, and I'm saying this as a person who speaks 2 other languages (arabic, hindi, and faarsi; no i'm not a terrorist, i just took it in college). Every major country around the world understands that English is very important. In China and India, learning English is a very important necessity for advancement. So in a country where everyone has been speaking english it for 2 centuries, then we should keep it that way. Frankly i'm shocked this wasn't done in earlier.

Answer 4

There is a movement (called USA English) to create legislation make it the official language. In some states it is, in quite a few there is none. The federal government recognises no official language, but all governmental materials are written in English.

After the Revolution, there was a movement to make German or French the official language to show distance from the UK, but this was abandoned.

If you scroll down, you'll notice that the American version of YA is also avaliable in Spanish.

Answer 5

Since only 5% of the population speaks proper English, I do not know how English could ever be the official language of the USA.

Answer 6

It has been accepted as such. It's required for citizenship. I think about 1/2 our states have made it the official language......it has never been an issue before. The majority of the states I have lived in have voted to make English the official language because of the latinos not learning English. I may be wrong but do any of you know of any other group who tried to make a states language be any other foreign language except for the Spanish speakers? I honestly can think of NONE. There have always been areas of the country where certain ethnic groups have settled but they've always learned English and didn't try to cause division in our country.

I don't know what the big deal is. Making English the official language isn't making it a CRIME to speak another language. It's just making it the 1 and only unifying factor we could have in order to have a multitude of people from all over the world be able to have 1 means of communication and live together peacefully. No one is denying it's good to know another language.....but we NEED to have 1 language that is necessary here. Why should someone from China be forced to learn 2 different languages to function here just because 1 group won't learn English? I'd be saying the same thing if it were Germans comming here and not learning English. Would it be fair to expect a Mexican to learn English and German to function here? No. Would it be fair that all citizens HAVE to learn 100's of different languages to go on a vacation and get by in their own country? NO!

Learn English or get out! I don't care what other language you speak and no one else has the right to tell me I must learn ANY other foreign language to live in my own country. Save the "bi-lingual" crap.....I speak 2 other languages besides English, but neither one is Spanish. I took them because it was part of my ancestors cultures. They came here and learned English and never spoke it again. I had visions of trying to go back to their homelands and see if I had relatives there at one time. I'm not learning a ton of foreign languages to be fair to ALL in order to get around in my country when all we ask is to learn 1. Just 1. It's the language of global business. It will get you a heck of alot further in the global business world than Spanish will. If you think it's the next big market...great....you're one up on the global deal.....either learn English to live here or go back to your Spanish speaking countries.

Answer 7

In communities that attempt to make English the "official" language, the measure has been stopped due to "unconstitutionality", such as in Nashville, Tennessee this last week. The first "official" language proposed in the United States was German. English is the "unofficial" international language of commerce. Bilingualism is vital, though, to have higher paying jobs in the global market. For example, the people who own Sony speak German. Foreign ownership of so-called American companies is up to 85%. Americans are at a terrible disadvantage in the realities of the global job market due partly to their lack of language skills. The U.S. lags far behind other developed nations in the world in multi-lingualism. Bilingualism in the U.S. also pays more. The biggest part of the problem with Spanish-only speakers in the U.S. is due to a failed effort two generations ago here to get the "guest" workers educated with enough bilingual educators helping the youngest children in schools make the transition from Spanish to English. There were not enough bilingual educators, mostly because businesses paid them more for their bilingual skills than communities would pay them as educators. Some communities and political action groups actually most vehemently opposed and foiled bilingual transition educational programs. The consequences, of course, have come home to roost.

Answer 8

It was in for a vote but it was turned down. Right now, we have no official language.

Answer 9

On a national level English has not been federally declared as the "official language" yet.

On the other hand, some states, like California, have passed legislation making English the "official language" of that state.
The California state legislature made english the official language of the state of California by law in 1982.
Other states have followed suit.

Our federal government should absolutely make english our national official language.

The United States Constitution was written in ENGLISH.
The United States Bill of Rights was written in ENGLISH.
ALL federal laws are written in ENGLISH.
All federal legislation and all federal bills written, voted on and passed or not passed by our government, our Congressmen and Congresswomen, and Senators are written in ENGLISH.
ALL state laws are written in ENGLISH.
ALL state legislation are written in ENGLISH.
ALL county, parish, and city laws in the USA are written in ENGLISH.
All court proceedings in this nation at all levels are conducted in ONLY ENGLISH.

This nation should have federal laws stipulating that all primary education in the USA should be english emersian, and all bi-lingual education needs to be outlawed, if any federal or state tax funds are being given to the operating of the schools.

In order to become a United States citizen you must have some english comprehension, and ONLY legal US citizens are allowed to vote in any election, therefore ALL ballots for ALL elections should be printed in ONLY ENGLISH.

If you don't want to learn english, to speak english, stay in your own country, don't come here to live.

If I decided to move to a spanish speaking country, I would learn spanish.
To live in the USA and not speak english is ignorant and disrespectful to this nation.

Answer 10

I wish English was the official language. People walk up to me and ask me questions in Spanish. Just because I'm Hispanic doesn't mean I know Spanish!!! However, it helps you a lot in the job world if you know more then one language. The problem looks like it will only get worse though... in a decade the majority of the population will be mexican. And I have a feeling that most of those mexicans will speak spanish. Seems like the "battle of the races" to me. Europeans beat out most indians, now mexicans are beating the europeans. grrrrr. I don't like spanish. I've failed at learning it!!!

Answer 11

No no official language. It shouldn't have to be made official.
A person in order to give themsleves the best chance in life should want to learn the predominant language.

Most countries in europe teach english there. forget what just happens in the USA. Business worldwide is predominantly conducted in english.
It would be a mistake not to learn it.