Introduction
The United States (US) is home to many people who come from all parts of the world. This means that they come in with their native languages. Most of the people who come to the United States have little or no English background. I believe that the US should take up English as an official language because it will be a unifying aspect when it does become. It is actually used in almost all sections of the US, and by this I am referring to schools, parliament and the constitution.
The unifying language To begin with, there have been cases of misunderstandings that sometimes result to meaningless arguments that cause physical or mental harm as a result of the use of native languages. If only English was an official language, then such incidences would be avoided. Secondly, we have an education system that uses English, and an economy that operates worldwide with the use of English just to mention but a few.
A common language like English will bring about a common understanding leading people to having a common vision hence creating unity. Most nations of the world use English as their first or even second official language, if this is so then why not the US as well?
English would serve as a uniting factor among the different races that exist in America. English is a rather simple language to learn. Since it is already spoken or is understood by a majority of the population, then it would be a viable tool to unite the different races in the country.
Lately, Hispanics have been segregated as they use Spanish for communicative purposes. If the trend continues, this will aggravate the segregation eventually alienating the Spanish and other communities as well. It is therefore necessary to have a unifying linguistic factor which would also go a long way in alleviating the racial conflicts
Bilingualism is proving to be too expensive for the American tax payers. The government has been allowing immigrants to use their native languages of which the government provides government funded translators. This is not only inconveniencing the whole system as more and more immigrants arrive from different countries, but will also be unsustainable in the near future.
Looking back at history, regions with a common communicative tongue have always flourished. Those without were forced to develop a lingua franca to meet their communicative needs. This has not changed in the present conditions. There is a need to have a common language to be used in business and other areas in America.
This would go a long way in further improving the country’s economy and well being. Opponents would argue that this language need not be English, but developing another language to the level where English is would take America a lot of years and resources. It is therefore very obvious that the language of choice here would be none other than English.
English language has the largest vocabulary as compared to any other language in the world. It is estimated that there are between 500,000 to 1,000,000 words to choose from in the English vocabulary. This makes English the most practical language to give a national status due to its ease of expression.
Scientific innovations are precisely expressed in the English language. In this field, English has proved to be viable tools as even other languages tend to borrow some scientific terms from the English language. This includes all fields of science ranging from biological and technical sciences.
A lot of books are already written in English. This includes books that were originally written in other languages. It is always very easy to translate books from other languages into English than it is to translate English into other languages. This shows that English opens up an avenue for American citizens to embrace more knowledge from other countries and societies.
English is also used in majority of the American educational institutions. This includes the institutions from elementary to university level. This has considerably elevated the status of the American universities which are ranked among the best in the world.
Simplicity English is relatively a simple language. The level of understanding is high as this can be witnessed by its use in the lowest elementary education level. Other languages have borrowed a lot from it as well. Its Accessibility There are many English resources available in schools such as books, journals novels among others.
The internet is as well a good source of English language and is more practical as aspects such as the social media have made it easier to learn the language. It is the language that is most used as a mode of communication in the social media. Utility It is through the use of a language like English that business can be carried out and brings about profits.
The reason behind this is that, numbers mater most when it comes to business and a language like English that is used by billions of people all over the world means good returns. This thus proves that it is important to officiate the language in the US for economic and growth purpose.
A cultural aspect English is a culture in its self. This has been displayed in different forms like drama and theatrics to the way of living.
Its dialects and diphthongs have often been used to express feelings, and emotions among others. This thus means that English can be used to derive a common culture among the people of the Unite States. Job creation Once it is made the official language, more job opportunities will be at people’s disposal, as the need to teach the language will be greater.
Conclusion If one is asked which language is best fit to become the official language of the United States, English would be the best fit. This however does not mean that all other languages would be disregarded. English is the one that has a favorable connotation. By the fact that it is used in almost all systems of the Nation, it deserves to be made the official language.
The people in the United States have a variety of languages and if all are spoken, then communication would be a challenge. There needs to be a unifying language like English so as to enhance the common good since there will be more understanding between people, and in the end, peaceful co-existence.
This peaceful co-existence can only come about through the promotion of English culture amongst the people. English, therefore, should become the official language to be used in the United States for the common good of all.