Yes, English is not the official language of the United States.

English is not the official language of the United States.

Wayne Wright, a professor of linguistics at Purdue University, told reporters in an interview with CNN, "The Founding Fathers didn't think it necessary to specify an official language. To some extent, making a language an official language means protecting it. When People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, English was dominant and there was no need to make it an official language. And compatriots who speak other languages are also fighting for American independence. It may offend them to make English the official language. "

In fact, before the birth of the United States, English was far more than one language used in this land. Dutch, French, German and indigenous languages were widely used in the then colonial state of 13. The diverse language environment may also cause some obstacles in determining the official language.

Without the official language, everything will be fine?

Although English is not the official language of the United States, forcing people to speak only English is nothing new. There have been many incidents in history that forced people to speak English. During the colonial period, out of fear of slave riots, farmers banned slaves sold from Africa from using their own languages to strengthen control.

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the children of Native Americans were forced to attend boarding schools, where Native Americans were punished for speaking their own language. During World War II, in Hawaii, Japanese schools run by Japanese immigrants were forcibly closed by the authorities.

What language is there to argue about?

The argument about language has nothing to do with language itself. Language is the carrier of culture. Culture communicates and spreads through language, and the influence of culture on people must be exerted through language. Conversely, language can strengthen culture. If a language is the mainstream of society, then its culture must also be the mainstream of society.

If a language is on the edge of society, people who use it will inevitably be affected. There is no doubt that lawyers in new york mistreat Spanish-speaking employees. In addition, Aaron Schlossberg equated speaking Spanish with illegal immigration and threatened restaurant owners with arrogance. He will call immigration and report every Spanish-speaking employee in the restaurant.

Efforts to establish English as the official language of the United States have never stopped.

Success or failure is another matter.

There is no doubt that English is definitely the mainstream language in the United States. Government documents, legal documents and commercial contracts are all written in English. Every immigrant from a non-English-speaking country feels the urgent pressure to learn English. Most American residents can only speak English. Although the dominant position of English in the United States is obvious, some legislators still want to write English as the official language of the United States into the Constitution.

198 1 year, California Senator S.I. Hayakawa drafted a proposal to amend the Constitution, trying to determine the official language status of English. But the draft was rejected. Since Hayakawa, many legislators have drafted similar proposals. Although none of them succeeded, their enthusiasm for trying to establish English as the official language has not diminished. In 2006, the Senate passed an amendment to the immigration law, stipulating that English is the official language of the United States, but the House of Representatives failed to pass the amendment.

However, despite the unsuccessful efforts to establish English as the official language at the national level, English is already the official language of many countries. In the past two decades, California, Massachusetts and Arizona have successively abolished bilingual education programs and replaced them with pure English programs. These laws also require public schools to teach in English, and even for students with language barriers, teaching activities can only be carried out in English.

These laws have been questioned. Beatriz Arias, a senior researcher at the Center for Applied Linguistics, believes that these laws are racial discrimination in disguise, because language is usually a sign of racial identity. "It seems that speaking English is equivalent to being an American, but Americans who can't speak English are also Americans."

Arias further pointed out that although California and Massachusetts allowed the resumption of bilingual education programs in 20 16 and 20 17 respectively, English-only theory seems to have stopped. Although the United States is becoming more and more multilingual, the dominant position of English will not waver at all. The whole American society still emphasizes that immigrants should "speak English".

Accordingly, the language of immigrants is more likely to gradually withdraw from the American social stage. Because the first generation of immigrants will learn English in order to better integrate into the United States, while the second generation of immigrants may only speak English.

Trump can't escape this?

Arias also believes that US President Trump's reintroduction of isolationism is one of the reasons for lawyers' abusive behavior. Arias believes that President Trump's remarks about immigration policy are obviously exclusive. "When the speech of the country's top leaders implies discrimination against ethnic minorities, people no longer pay attention to linguistic diversity and community diversity, which is harmful to the development of the United States in the long run."