Language is a force that binds the world together, allowing for the spread of information and communication to surpass all boundaries. According to Susannah MacKaye, the head of a language rights-group with a masters degree in linguistics from Stanford University, language creates a common bond and establishes a common ethnicity (137). Language exists as a unifying source for diverse cultures and composing the American heritage. “Vanishing Voices” by Russ Rymer describes the loss of languages, a direct consequence of the domination by English, the official language of numerous states. The official language has significance in determining an everyday part of life and an impact on the preservation of an entire people’s culture, as it is used …show more content…
Proposition 63 in California, passed in 1986, is the law that establishes English as the official language (MacKaye 136). Within the document it ensures to “preserve the role of English as the state 's common language” and to allow for the “passing (of) laws which diminish or ignore the role of English as the state 's common language”. After a court case challenging the law, the United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, the largest appellate court, proclaimed the law was largely “symbolic”. While this possibly reduced the effect of the law, the law can and is still used to support English speakers. According to Jonathan Pool, who studies panlingual lexocology, the structure of all languages, and has written numerous other works in the American Political Science Review journal, an English official language may diminish the welfare of non-English speakers and as a result give English a “positive adoptive price” as “time, effort, and money” (499) of learning the official language are required. Consequently, if the official language is not learned, there is a loss of prestige, difficulty in communication, and costs for translation. Linguistic privileges exist, and people who speak the official languages have positive, tangible benefits both legally and
Policy in the United States towards foreign languages has long been a complicated process. The nation was founded by polyglot immigrants and welcomed, to varying degrees, many subsequent waves of immigrants speaking languages familiar and foreign. Most immigrants learned English and despite efforts to maintain their mother tongue, the “permissiveness and apathy” of American society towards second languages allowed the gradual erosion of many mother tongues. English, although the common language in schools, the courts, government, and the business community in the United States, is not the official language of our country. This fact juxtaposes paradoxically with the necessity of speaking English for success in our society, and the dying out of many languages native to immigrants after the third generation. Since no official policy at the federal level governs the official language of the United States, nor the teaching of foreign languages until after the Second World War, language education in the U.S. remained a patchwork of local policies.
Wiley, Terrence G. "Language Planning, Language Policy, and the English-Only Movement." Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Ed. Edward Finegan and John R. Rickford. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. 319-38. Print.
“Our Native Tongue” is a short article written by Nelson W. Aldrich. Jr, in February 2000. To begin the article Aldrich describes how privileged and grateful he is to know the English language. Aldrich says “I’d been born with a silver tongue in my mouth.” From this statement, readers can assume how amazing the English language is. Silver is an item most people value, Aldrich values English the way some would value silver. Aldrich also says because he knows the English language he has access to many opportunities, that others would have to pay for because they do not know the English language. The article also discusses the first global lingua franca. Lingua franca is “the language of science, business, political, and finical power, and English”. Lingua franca is also a diammoniate language that is accepted between speakers whose languages are different.
Inhofe, James M. and Cecilia Munoz. "Should English be declared America’s national language? A nation of immigrants considers the pros and cons of giving English official status." New York Times Upfront 23 Oct. 2006: 3. Bnet. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). English as a Second Language (ESL). Limited English Proficiency (LEP). English Language Learners (ELL). All of these are programs for students who did not learn English as their first language. Every day, students face many different challenges while going to school. Some struggle to grasp the concepts of math. Some struggle to manage their time wisely. Many struggle to get up in the morning. Many also struggle to fit in. But many of these struggles would be a little easier for those who have learned English as their first language. Those who did not, juggle learning English while trying to learn new concepts that are taught in English. It starts to sound like a catch 22, which is part of the
racie Allen of the comedy team of Burns and Allen was once asked how one should speak French. She replied, “Well, you speak it the same way you speak English; you just use different words.” When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation, building background, and comprehensible input, we can indeed teach our future English language learners all the right moves with all the right words.
Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.
Language has the power to influence and reshape our thoughts and actions. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there is a society which controls the language of everyone in it. Under the World Council, everyone is to follow the many rules put in place and no one even tries to break them. There is no “I” in their language, there is only “we”. With the power to influence and reshape people, language has a big impact on our thoughts and actions.
The United States is made up of many different ethic groups. These groups vary from Latinos, Asian American, African American, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and etc. These ethnic groups come into America speaking many different languages. However, many people are still surprised to learn that the United States has no official language. Many assume that English is the official language of the United States. But despite efforts over the years, the United States has no official language. Because the United States has no official language, it is suffering with large costs. These large costs will lead us on a road to wasteful government expenses, language battles that fuel ethnic resentment, and in the long run serious ethnic and linguistic separatist movements. An official English legislation is the answer to the problem.
The ongoing debate across our great and diverse nation is whether there should be enacted into law an official native tongue: that being English. Throughout the world, the United States has been viewed throughout its existence as a nation to be a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities unlike any seen before. Since the time of the settlers, one could take notice quite easily the German Jagerhaus, the British Pubs, as well as the Italian eateries- each flared with a distinct flavor and language. This vast difference seen is what makes America unique. Up until the very recent future, it was unheard of anywhere but our great land to be able to sit in a classroom and have classmates from Asia, Europe, Africa, The Middle East and Latin America. This great blend of society continues to advance our perceptions of the world as well as hone in on the principle that it is okay to be distinctive. What purpose, then, would having a law in place requiring one to utilize a certain language?
English becoming the official Language of the United States is not just a controversial topic, it is necessary to keep America alive. American history and tradition is falling, and the ground on which she was founded is slowly fading. Americans must wake up to the importance of preserving the history of their culture. America is considered to be the greatest country in the world by even some who are not Americans. The “American Dream” is something people fantasize over all around the world. In order to keep the desire to be American, one must truly understand what it takes to be American. English is essential in living the American life. English should be the official language of the United States to give the people what they want, to recognize the historic role, and to limit controversy.
According to Hudson, a variety is ‘a set of linguistic items with similar social distribution’ . Since the term dialect has acquired a negative connotation throughout the years, academics have started to use the term variety, which is considered more neutral, instead.
Language. It is a sign of who we are and where we come from. As language defines us, so does it unite us, but it can also impose barriers that drive us apart. As our society aggressively pursues globalization, individuals who maintain cultural sensitivity and strive for effective communication despite language barriers will be an increasingly important commodity; individuals who can also pass the gift of adept communication to others will be invaluable. On the eve of my college graduation, the culmination of four years ' immersion in language and communication and the beginning of a lifetime of educating others in these disciplines, I feel increasingly the weight of
The English language arose from the early Anglo Saxon inhabitants in ancient England and spread to Scotland and other European countries via the British Empire and later to the United States through colonial political and economical influences. It later dispersed to other parts of the world through these same influences to become one of the leading languages of the world. It has over the years developed by adopting different dialects to create a language, which is the standard lingual Franca in many countries. The rapid growth of the English language and its adoption by different cultures across the globe is sufficient ground to make it the global language.
Over the years English inarguably has reached a status of a global language and commonly is characterized as a lingua franca. It has become the language that is spoken by millions of people all over the world; as the mother tongue, as the language used for international communication and as the language learned in the millions of schools.