English As The Official Language: Necessity Or Formality?
Inglés Como La Lengua Oficial: ¿necesidad o formalidad?
English As The Official Language: necessity or formality?
America is a nation that, from its founding, has had a distinguishing quality that no other country in the world shares. This quality has been the willingness to accept people of all different cultures as citizens of the country without forcing them to change who they are. How often have you seen the translations on the backs of shampoo bottles and instruction manuals and become annoyed? Why is it easily forgotten that at one time, all Americans were immigrants and natively spoke a different language? Cultures depend on their languages and customs to define them. But to what degree do the words you use define the person you are? This is a vital question in the intensely debated issue of making English the official language of the United States. Is this movement to distinguish English as the official national language only symbolic, or is it necessary? (Hudson 1).
In May of 2006, two amendments were proposed to a measure that had generated much controversy, declaring English as the official language of the United States of America (Ramos 1). The original bill was an immigrant reform bill that faintly declared English the official language of the United States ("Languages" 1). This law would not make it illegal to speak foreign languages, but would require all immigrants to learn English before becoming citizens and all government documents and transactions to be recorded in English ("English Only?" 1). The first amendment to this bill, proposed by Senator James Inhofe, formally declared English as the national language. The second amendment, proposed by Senator Ken Salazar, declared English as the "common and unifying language", instead of the "official national language." Ultimately, the original intentions of the bill did not change, and it passed with a vote of 58- 39 (Ramos 1). In the past, many endeavors have been made to...
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