Official English: A False Policy Issue

Abstract

Making English the official language of the United States is a false policy issue. The evidence does not support arguments that the use of English is declining or that the use of other languages debilitates the social fabric of the United States. On the contrary, attempts to impose English on the U.S. population have served historically to divide the nation. The facts do not support linguistic or social fragmentation. English is the language of state and the common language of the U.S. population. Immigrants continue to enter the United States because of the protections and opportunities it offers, and they give highest priority to learning English. The real language-policy issues have to do with literacy and high-level multilingual skills. A sane national language policy would give primacy to literacy and would promote multilingualism. The nation's energies must be directed at language policies that empower all citizens rather than punish some.