Official Language of the United States

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      Designating an Official Language to the United States
      Heather Michaud
      Eng122; English Composition II
      Professor Susan Kissel
      TA Matthew Gainous
      June 18, 2012



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      The United States has a national flag, a national anthem, national holidays and even a national soccer team.   Something the United States does not have is a national language.   This topic is not necessarily a problem for our country like homelessness or the crashing economy, but is a subject that many feel passionate, even debated in Congress as reported by msnbc.com as recently as May 16, 2012.   By declaring an official language for our country, this could strengthen the unification of its citizens as well as empowering immigrants to help them prosper in business.   The United States would greatly benefit to have English as its official language.
      This highly controversial topic is approachable from many different aspects.   Many think that having the opinion, “you live in the United States, learn English” is a racially derogative remark. A retort to this is, “English as an official language has nothing to do with discrimination. This isn't about race. People from every race come to the US and learn to understand the American dialect of English.” (Debate: English as official US Language.   October 2010, Integration or Discrimination, Pro p. 5)     In fact, according to an U.S. English Chairman Mauro E. Mujica, English is considered the language of success in countries like China, France and Africa, but we prevent American citizens from reaching their full potential by providing foreign language translations. (U.S. English Chairman to Congress: Support English as Official Language of the United States, 2012)
      Another aspect of the importance of having an official language designated for the country is that it is a unified language,...