| The Debate Over Whether English
Should Be Made the Official Language of the U.S. |
| A project by |
| Nathan L. Kirkham |
Abstract: Although public opinion regarding making English the official language of the United States has been fairly consistent over the last 10 years, its effects on policy have been anything but consistent. In this unusual case, the assumption that policy follows public opinion does not always hold true. In almost every way the question can be phrased, about two-thirds of U.S. citizens support the official English stance. The lone exception is the Hispanic community. However, the random patchwork of state and local laws, and attempts at national legislation, don't always support the vision of a united pro-English public. In some cases official English follows this will of the majority, however an inordinate amount of English Only legislation fails despite popular support among the electorate.
In the U.S. the debate surrounding the sovreignty of English grows hottest when the competing language is Spanish. Americans, looking past the plethora of tongues spoken between Maine and Hawaii, almost always reduce the conflict to a dual one -- English versus Spanish. While almost 95 percent of Americans speak English according to the 1990 Census, the fastest growing minority population streaming into the U.S. is the Hispanic, Spanish-speaking immigrant. While many of these immigrants fill evening school English classes to the brim, most Hispanics feel a kinship provided by their native language. This refusal to completely abandon Spanish has many American English speakers worried about the lack of national cohesion suffered without a single official language. This project attempts to explain how both sides have mobilized to frame the issue, persuade publics and craft legislation at the national, state and local levels.
Copyright © Nathan L. Kirkham, Fall 1999.
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