Donovan Markley

Ms. Tyre

November 2nd, 2016

Is English the Language of the US?

Dear Mr. or Mrs. president,

The United States of America does not have an national official language. We are English speaking Americans, so it would seem right to make it English. I believe that it would be right to make it English. Our country is made up of immigration, and we have multiple languages and cultures that come together. We have such a mix of languages, and dialects going on in america, while the majority of our population does speak English. Over a course of 5 years, a test was done to see how many people spoke English in their homes. “About 231,000,000” (American Community Survey Reports) people spoke English in their homes, then the other “61,000,000” (American Community Survey Reports) who spoke spanish or another language other than English. I know this may upset some people, but as our country was made we didn’t declare a national language throughout, though we didn’t have all 50 states back then.

Now think why should we make it English? This could bring anyone coming to our country to get to speak a little English so that they may be able to get around with people that wouldn’t know their language. By being able to carry on a conversation with people they could make their way around the city or town they are located in, and maybe find some places to eat or some entertainment even. We don't want to make them speak English, but to give them the opportunity to learn and come closer together with people in our country, so they won’t be left out. I don't want to keep them from their own language and stop them from speaking it, but if we can use it to bring them closer to us maybe it would make us a little less different, with a common language together.

“ Legislators have been trying every year to make English the official language of the United States, and it dies every year” (The Washington Times). We have tried to do this in the past, and I think that some people don't take it as serious as they should. I believe that this could help us as a nation more than it could hurt us, and i would like to see it happen in my lifetime.

Would it be better to leave it blank or fill it in? American is a country born of immigrants and formed by different nations, and cultures. Languages that are dialects from another, some cities have locations dedicated to one specific place, for the majority there speaks one language, other than English. This claim has reason as well as the side being supported in this paper, somethings are counter to others, but also reverse of them as well. “While making English the official language of the United States would alleviate some issues, such as the cost of translation, the option for immigrants to stay non-English-monolingual, and the potential language barriers, Official English would also make life far more difficult for assimilating immigrants.” (English Should Not Be the US Official Language).

Sincerely,

Donovan M.

Billings, Montana

 "Why English Should Be the Official Language of the United States." Washington Times. The Washington Times, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31/why-english-should-be-official-language-united-sta/

"American Community Survey Reports - Census.gov." N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.

https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf

"English Should Not Be the US Official Language." Genevas Blogmbast. N.p., 2009. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

https://genevaelixabeth.wordpress.com/2009/05/01/english-should-not-be-the-us-official-language/