The United States is stuck in a conflict between keeping the tradition of multiculturalism and diversity, and assimilating into one singular culture. Caught in the middle of this struggle is language. Currently the United States does not have an official language, even though many governmental organizations try to pass legislation making English the official American language. The Cambridge Dictionary states that the definition of an official language is, ¨the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country 's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc” (¨Official Language¨ 1). This means that if the United States government establishes English as the official language, all government funded events…show more content… Even though the United States is known as an English speaking country, the influence of the Spanish language is just as influential to the country as English is. Currently, the United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country just behind Mexico (Burgen). If the United States is the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world, then it would be unwise for the government to make the official language English.
Many countries around the world have set a precedent in being successful without having an official language, thus, one language is not necessary. The United States, however, is not the only country which hosts multiple languages. As King states, India is home to nineteen official languages (536).The United States feels that it is necessary to only have one official language, however, India has set a foundation of representing multiple…show more content… David Kopel of the Washington Post, an exceptionally educated author, describes the supreme court case of Meyer vs. Nebraska. As part of a World War I anti-German movement, the state of Nebraska passed a law in 1919 prohibiting the teaching of any language outside of English to children in school. This law was created with the intent to prohibit Lutheran and Catholic church groups to teach children their religion in a foreign language. Robert T. Meyer, a Lutheran school teacher was arrested and fined for teaching the children about religion in German. Eventually, Meyer appealed the State of Nebraska, and the case made it’s way to the United States Supreme Court where Meyer won 7-2 (Kopel 1). This case demonstrates why the United States should not adopt English as the official language. The government undoubtedly denied the citizens of Nebraska their first amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion. If the United States chooses to make the official language, America will endanger the rights of the citizens, as history often