If English
is your answer, sorry, you are wrong. If your answer is American English, you
are still wrong! English is not the official language of the United States of
America. In fact, the US has no official language, at least on the federal
level. One would think that English, which is undoubtedly the lingua franca of business and global
politics today, is by default the most powerful nation's official language. But
it is not. There has never been one, and will probably never will be, at least
in the near foreseeable future.
Why is this
so? One theory is because it goes against the spirit on which the US was
founded on. America is a country of immigrants of different races, religions, political
beliefs, customs, traditions, and of course, languages. The Constitution of the
US protects the freedoms of its citizens on many levels including their
individuality and diversity. And language forms a big part of every citizen.
If Columbus discovered
America, why isn't Spanish the official language?
The first
Europeans who set foot on the Americas (North and South American continents)
were not the Spaniards or the Portuguese. Vikings already found themselves in
Canada even before the Spanish explorers sent their vast ships to find more
lands and riches to conquer. But it was the voyages of the Spanish backed
Christopher Columbus and his crew that were credited with the discovery of the
Americas.
So why
isn't Spanish the official language of the United States? Because Christopher
Columbus' discovery merely paved the way for other European explorers to come
to what was then known as the New World. French, Dutch, Swedes and British
explorers and colonizers found themselves on the shores of what is now the
United States and the other countries in the same geographical location.
Spain
pretty much conquered South and Central America plus areas of North America
specifically the Great Plains, the areas around the Grand Canyon and parts of
the Mississippi River. The French found themselves in parts of Canada and
eventually in Louisiana and in small villages along the rivers of Illinois as
well as the Mississippi. Dutch colonies were in the Hudson River Valley.
And when
these European explorers and colonizers came, they brought with them their own
culture and language.
The influence of the
British
The English
colonizers occupied the eastern seacoast. They brought with them their culture
and traditions, their way of government and politics, their religion and their
language, among other things. However, the colonists were not in British Isles
anymore so they had to adapt to the political, social and economic environment
they found themselves in. But they remained subjects of the Crown.
The British
government back in Europe eventually lost its hold on the colonists for a
number of reasons. And, by 1776, thirteen colonies, namely Connecticut,
Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,
South Carolina and Virginia, declared their independence from the mighty
British Empire. This paved the way for the creation of the independent nation
now known as the United States of America.
Most of the
country's founding fathers were of English lineage and thus spoke the language
of the British Empire. So the Constitution of the United States was written in
English. After the establishment of the nation, there was a steady drove of
people from Britain migrating into the newly formed country. As the nation
grew, the English language also spread throughout the country even as other
languages continued to be spoken throughout the United States. The original
English language that the British colonizers and immigrants brought to the US
evolved into what is now referred to as American English as opposed to British
English.
What's the difference?
American
English is not too far from British English. There are some differences in
accent, pronunciation, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar and style. When it
comes to writing, it is in the spelling of certain words that you can really
see the difference between the two.
Words that
usually end in "-our" in the Queen's English sometimes end only in
"-or" when written in New World English. Some examples are:
humour-humor, rumour-rumor, labour-labor and honour-honor. A select number of
words ending with "-re" in British English end in "-er"
instead in American English. A few examples are fibre-fiber, litre-litre,
metre-meter, centre-center, and theatre-theater. The British use
"-se" while the Americans use "-ze" in some words. Examples
of this are analyse-analyze, colonise-colonize, organise-organize and
realise-realize. These are only three examples of spelling differences between the
two types of English language.
Where is English as an
official language?
On the
federal level, the US does not recognize English as the official language.
However, on the state level, English has been named as an official language.
Out of the 50 American states, the following 28 states have designated English
as their official language:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
(also lists Hawaiian as an official language)
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
New
Hampshire
North
Carolina
North
Dakota
Oklahoma
South
Carolina
South
Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
Wyoming
Languages in America
today
English is
the most spoken language in the country according to census reports. More than
80% of the total population list English as their mother language. Although
there have been many attempts in the past to make English, that is, American
English, the official language of the USA. Such attempts have never been
successful.
Nipping at
the heels of English is Spanish with more than 12% of Americans speaking this
language. This is not surprising at all due to the history of the US Apart from
the many Spanish-speaking communities that have long been part of the America
immigrants from Spanish speaking countries south of the border continue to
migrate into what these immigrants view as the land of opportunity.
Some of the
other languages spoken in the United States according to the latest census are:
Chinese, Tagalog (from the Philippines), French, Vietnamese, German, Korean,
Russian, Arabic, Italian and Portuguese.
The
original languages of America, the Native American languages, are only spoken
by a number of small communities spread out in the country.
In the
United States, more than 330 languages are either spoken or signed by its
current population.
America is
THE melting pot of races. The Statue of Liberty has stood proudly for many
years to welcome people of all cultures, races, and religions. The country
prides itself with championing individual liberties and of being stalwarts for
culture diversity. Although English is the most widely used language in the
country, the country remains multilingual. For now, only time will tell if
English will become the official language of the mightiest nation on the
planet.
This is very interesting, Dine.
ReplyDeleteYes the United States is a melting pot of many languages, religions, cultures, & beliefs, but there is only ONE GOD, ONE CREATOR of ALL the Universe and HE created ONLY "ONE HUMAN RACE" OF FLESH, BLOOD, & BONE, of many skin, hair, & eye colors, and EACH HUMAN BEING VERY UNIQUE IN IT'S OWN DNA. There is no official language on this earth, there are over 7000 distinct languages that human beings speak on this earth, check this link out https://answersingenesis.org/tower-of-babel/ and then read the HOLY BIBLE FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION...THE TRUTH ALWAYS SETS YOU FREE-GOD ALMIGHTY IS THE CREATOR OF ALL LANGUAGES ON THIS EARTH but the devil in his anger towards GOD ALMIGHTY tries to always bring perversion to GOD'S CREATION... Those that want an official language in the United States or for that matter in any other nation, is for controlling and manipulating the entire population to their way of thinking and violating the peoples freedom of making decisions and choosing their own culture and way of living life on earth.
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ReplyDeleteWe should as a nation of immigrants (voluntarily or against your will)should focus on the language that will unite all people wanting to live permanently in the USA at this time and that is the American English language. Whether official or unofficial it would be a disadvantage to foreign children and adults to not speak English. If the choice ever comes up for a vote, I vote for American English as the official language for American citizens of the USA. (I never thought I would live to see the day when the English language has to be defended)
ReplyDeleteEnglish today, tomorrow and forever! (Unless I leave the USA)
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ReplyDeleteThe Solutean's from S. France were the first to populate the United States
ReplyDeleteWe fought two wars to get rid of the English. Why keep the language imposed upon us by them?
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