Why English Should Not Be the Official Language

Questione della lingua, the "language debate," is nothing new in history. Dante outraged the world when he chose to write in Italian rather that the universal Latin in order to make his writing more accessible to the common person. The educated were taught Greek and Latin, as well as their mother tongue. The whole "re-birth" (renaissance) era was an important time all over the world, because the lower classes now had access to those ideas and information that had formally been in and inaccessible language. 500 hundred years earlier, English was just taking shape, and is described as an unfortunate accident. It borrow from Indo-European languages of the invaders. When Britain could pay not the mercenary soldiers, the decided to stay. And, so did the language.

The Norman conquest in 1066 impacted the language of Britain. English incorporated French, the descendant of Vulgar Latin, words into the language. While the vocabulary and style of Modern French have been influenced by movements such as romanticism and realism, structurally French has changed comparatively little since the Middle French period Lingua Franca was the diplomatic language of the Middle-Ages that allow the Arabs to converse with a very diverse group of people. It was the language of trade. Until the late 19th Century French was considered the educated language.

King James I forced English on Britain in the 1700's for his political needs. The King's English that James I forced on Britain, did little to attain the goal of unification of the English and the Scots. But, the British still had no qualms about imposing English on the colonies. Australia, India and Ireland were settled by the English, and there is no evidence that the enforced language unified these countries. The United States inherited her language form Britain, but few would say American English, is the same language. Today , English is like the Latin of the Mid-evil Renaissance, only learned people have the opportunity to learn the "language of business." In many non-English speaking countries, English language is a requirement. In America? Many Americans can not speak English correctly, never mind a second language. Maybe, we should be teaching history along with a second language. History will show that languages drift in and out of fashion.

The main point of the classic debate is that the language question has little to do with the official language and more to do with culture and Scio economics. The recent language debate appears to be a civil liberties issue and political attempt to legislate culture. English only advocates admit the real agenda is to "send a message." What is the message for a Constructional Amendment? Political advocates appear to believe that there is a connection between English as the "only" as a vehicle of thoughts and democratic values. There are few kangaroos loose in the top paddock (Australian slang for being a few cards short of a full deck. Even though the United Kingdom speaks English the ideas are readily conveyed.) Those that advocate for English only often cite the Magna Carta. (Which was written in Latin.)

"So, after two hundred years of cohabitation with English, we have decided to make and honest woman out of her for the sake of the children ." (Geoffrey Nunberg, Language Localities. ) The goals the Americanization Campaign are clearly to impart Anglo-Saxon concepts in government. Our founding fathers would have been distressed if the truths they held "self-evident" could only be comprehend in English.

Only 15 percent of the world speaks English as a primary language. Spanish is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and the second most spoken language by number of native speakers. Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, with 3 times the numbers speaking Chinese.

Here are some excellent academic arguments for a speaking second language:

Students who study a second language have a higher SAT scores for each year of studied language. This is even higher when second language is a Latin root language. Study of a second Lange helps with the understanding of English grammar. A second language helps to expand vocabulary. Learning a second language increases problem solving skills and improves memory, self-discipline and self-esteem.

I you are going to travel, you may need a basic idea of the language. It is a myth that the whole world is bi-lingual. With a few blocks from your hotel the native inhabitants will not be speaking Global English.

In many states hospital staff, police officers, judges, lawyers, nurses, social worker and more are enrolling in Spanish classes to be more effective on their jobs. Speaking a second language can increase you income by 25 percent.

The NAFTA treaty with Mexico, Canada and the United States opens the door for trade and a need for communication between these countries. Some predictions are that the Hispanic workforce will increase 25 percent by 2010. South America represents a growing market for American Companies. I suggest those in management positions will need to speak Spanish.

If you are dealing in certain products you must know the language of the product. For instance if you deal in Volks Wagon parts you might want to know German. Though the CEO's of many companies speak Global English, many of the workers speak their native language. Business has come to realize that the customer will dictate the language the trade, but those working in sweat shoppes are not speaking English.

Though many may be able to Speak Global English, there is a distinct difference between speaking from the heart and speaking from the head.