Essay Anthropology 416 - English as an Official Language
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Course
Anthropology 416
Institution
California State University - Fullerton
Book
An Introduction to Language and Linguistics
This 1,136-word essay discusses the fact that English is not an official language in the USA. It outlines the advantages and disadvantages of this and why the language has not been deemed the country's official language.
The paper cites the course textbook, "Language and Linguistics."
The question being addressed encourages me to, “discuss why the United States has no
official language policy.” A better rendering of this question perhaps, could be, why the United
States has no “official” official language policy. Most people in the country actually believe that
English is, by law, the official language of the United States. And while no one would doubt that
English is the primary language used, there is no law determining a specific language to be
spoken within the government and its agencies. Nonetheless, in light of current immigration
issues facing our country, the discussion as to whether the English language should be codified
as law, has become quite loud and complicated. Unfortunately, there is nowhere to be found any
standard, one-size-fits-all, operational definition of exactly what an official language policy is.
For instance, our course textbook even fails to clearly define the subject at hand. Therefore, I am
lead to ask many questions regarding the changes that would take place if the United States did
create an official language policy. Our President already conducts all business in English, our
Congress already conducts all business in English, and our federal agencies and departments
already conduct business in English. What would be the purpose of such a law, if one could even
be legislated in this country?
Whether having an official language policy is a good or bad thing is, in and of itself, an
issue that is made up of so many complex elements, rendering it neither bad nor good, but rather
having components of each. Historically speaking, through imperialistic colonization, often
, times the language of the mother country was imposed upon the colony, and sometimes even
maintained after its independence. This is the reason English was and still is the main language
spoken in the U.S.
It almost seems as if language has never really been an obstacle to people trying to
succeed in this country. Even at the beginning of 20th century, with the first few major waves of
immigration into the US, new immigrants made it a point not only to attempt to learn English,
but insisted that their children become fluent in it, as well. They knew in their hearts that if they
and their children were going to succeed in this country, they needed to learn the language
(Fasold and Connor-Linton 2014). It’s understood that currently, almost the entire western world
is experiencing an unprecedented immigration crisis and this has brought about new debate in
this country, as to why it might be advantageous to have an official language in the U.S.
The United States, was established with a firm set of values and laws that were based
upon the foundation of a unique character. That “character” assumed that independence, liberty,
self-determination, and freedom to live one’s life as they please, were dispensed to them from
God and were not up for debate. It has generally been the desire for immigrants coming to this
country to want to participate in this American experience. It could be argued that the key
element which binds these components of the American character is the English language. And it
could be further argued that if this character is to be dominant in the establishment of a more
perfect union, as the U.S. Constitution implores us to do, then it’s essential that everyone who
desires to be a part of this grand experiment, should take hold of this key element (Fasold and
Connor-Linton 2014).
When one considers the U.S. Constitution and the way American law is legislated, the
very question of an “official language” is on its face, a difficult concept. Legislatively speaking,
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