Making English the Official Language of the United States

Jonathan Dishon
ENG 1101
Dr. Hughes
November 20, 2009

Inhofe, James M. "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. FindArticles.com. 19 Nov, 2009. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BUE/is_4_139/ai_n17215363/>.

James Inhofe discusses how according to several polls done of both Americans and of immigrants that the overwhelming majority of both groups believe that English should be made the official language of the United States. According to the polls about 85 percent of Americans are for English becoming the official language and 71 percent of immigrants are for English becoming the official language as well. Another thing that Inhofe brings up is how many immigrants want to learn English because it will help them succeed in school, increase their earning potential, and enhance their career options. Inhofe also brings up a court case of an immigrant woman named Martha Sandoval who tried to sue the state of Alabama because they did not allow the test to get a driver’s license to be taken in a foreign language. The final verdict sent down by the U.S. Supreme Court was that Mrs. Sandoval was not allowed to sue the state of Alabama. Inhofe also brings up that many federal courts have upheld that there is no right to foreign-language based government forms, deportation notices, and civil service exams. And that there are about 30 years worth of cases related to this subject piled up. This will help out in my paper by giving me some statistics to support my view that English should become the official language. It also will help because it shows that the immigrants, who many may think do not support English, actually are for making English the official language. Another topic Inhofe brings up that will be beneficial to my paper is the court case in which the lady was not allowed to sue the state of Alabama because they did not offer the driver’s license test in a foreign language. I will be able to use this to show that the federal courts have agreed on several occasions that government forms and other forms or documents are not required to be translated into a foreign language.


King, Robert D. “Should English Be The Law?”. The Atlantic Online. April 1997. 55-64. The Atlantic Monthly Company. 18 Nov. 2009. < http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97apr/english.htm>.

In this article Robert King discusses how the language debate is already tearing apart many countries around the world and that the United States could be headed down that path if we continue to try and make English our official language. This is the opposite stance from which I am coming from. My view is that by making English the official language it will unite us and not pull us apart. King makes a very interesting statement in his article when he says that traditionally the American way has been to make English the official language, but to do so quietly and without any fuss. And that there was no rush from the Founding Fathers to make English the official language because it was always taken for granted that English be the national language and that everyone learn English in order to succeed in America. I will be able to use this statement in my paper because it shows that the original plan for the United Sates was to make English the official language. It also says that the Founding Fathers thought of it as a given that people would learn English when they came to America in order to succeed, because it is the language spoken by all native people. This goes along with my view because I believe that if you want to succeed in a country then you will learn that countries official language, and while English is not official quite yet it is still the language spoken by the majority of people in the country. Also in his article King quotes Theodore Roosevelt’s statement that, “We have room for but one language here, and that language is English, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans. We must have but one flag. We must also have but one language.” I will be able to use this quote to show that by making English the official language it will in fact help to unify us as a country. It will take all the groups of English speaking people in America and unify them under one name, Americans.