Argument_Paper__Designating_an_Official_Language

Argument Paper: Designating an official language for the United States Jennifer Jackson Eng 122 Ms. Lisa M. Carlo November 26, 2012 Argument Paper: Designating an official language Designating an official language in the United States here in the 21st century seems farcical. The United States was founded to gain freedoms from Britain. These freedoms were not limited to only to religion, government, or the right to decide how to tax the people, but language freedom. The United States is a melting pot of many cultures and languages. English is a worldly known language and has been taught to many children of non-English native tongue. English has become a second language used primarily in business, education, and advertising (Gelderen, 2006, page 253, para. 1) in many parts of the world such as the Netherlands and Norway. With a population of roughly 313 million, just in the United States, designating an official language now seems preposterous. There are many cultures, religions, and different types of people in the States and taking away their freedom to choose between their native tongue and one that is spoken around the world does not seem befitting. Diversity and freedom to choose how one lives and speaks is a fundamental right in the United States. Now in the 21st century to change what has been going on probably before writing books had been established, many languages have been used. Everything from our heritage to our language is different, yet similar.   Robert Macneil said it best when he wrote, "Like the Mississippi, it keeps forging new channels and abandoning old ones (Macneil, 2004, page 1, para.1)." The English language itself has sustained many changes over many centuries. The language has been around since at least 450 CE (Gelderen. 2006) and has many changes. Words and their meanings have changed slowly over time and English has spread from Great Britain to the United States, to Australia to Germany. For example the word snap. The word can mean a variety of things such as, closing something, yelling or barking at someone, or used as slang by saying, oh, snap! Which by doing so changes its meaning entirely, but stays the same'  Not only slang words, but also the way people use them. There are many versions of English. For instance, in the country it carries a twang, in the city it is a bit harsher or can be, and Ebonics (which can be heard spoken a lot around Southern Illinois, East Saint Louis, and Saint Louis). Many Ebonics words are created by slurring everyday words such as saying, “Yo, sup'” With all the different versions of English founded around the United States of America, how could only one be chosen'   Settlers have been migrating to this country for centuries whether it is by legal means or crossing the border illegally. People migrating here from Ireland to avoid the famine, Germans coming to avoid the holocaust, from around the world people have came here to be free. Immigrants have had to learn the native language to gain employment. However, it has become a necessity to learn a foreign language to communicate with some ethnic races, such as Mexicans, many of them crossing the border to find work to support their families back home. Spanish is taught in many high schools as a second language, as is English in some states such as New Mexico and Arizona, is taught to children entering school as a secondary language. Designating an official language may cause other languages to be lost and rarely spoke. In England, French (Milroy, 1998) was widely known and English was a secondary language for them. In the late 1300s, English had become the "designated" language and many children (Milroy, 1998, page 26, para. 3) had forgotten how to speak French. Other societies have incorporated English into their native language (Lesser, 2004). Writers from fifteen different languages came together in one book, "Genius of Language (Lesser, 2004),"to share their ideas and opinions on converging to English, but without straying from their native tongue. Having known a different language other than English has been proven useful. Translators are needed, which provides jobs, sign language is taught to the hearing-impaired. Sign language is not only American, but Spanish as well. English language can be founded around the world, yet the great country known as the United States does not currently have one language or one version of its language, but several, such as American English and Chinese-English. Sociolinguists, (Bex, 1999, page 123, So what is it then'), “agreed that English is a dialect” not a language. “It is a dialect like Cockney, (Bex, 1999, page 123) or Scouse, or Yorkshire.” English is forever changing, as is the world. With all the different cultures and languages found in the United States, as a society all of our languages intertwine together like the song, "All the colors of the wind” sang by Vanessa Williams. The song noting, “Can you sing with all the colors of the wind'” In the northern continent known as the United States, can we sing with all the languages in the wind' There are so many to choose from and much of our language has been adopted from other languages. English has a large “range of vocabulary (Momma, 2009, page 189) borrowed from French, and coexisted with Latin, (Momma, 2009, page 185) the language of the church.” A teacher from Brazil, Mrs. Odom from Du Quoin, Illinois, whom from the area she once came (Brazil) spoke Portuguese, comes to America seventeen years ago and becomes a Spanish teacher at a local high school (Trico High School, Campbell Hill, Illinois, 62272, 618-426-1111). Talking to her, one can discover that many parts of the world speak English and that it was difficult to learn. Some visitors acquire passports to come to America. The statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, and the Empire State building attract “foreigners” to sightsee. These people may know some English or none at all, but if we have a designated language, would that be a requirement to step foot into our homeland as they need a passport' Forcing an entire country to choose an official language goes against our constitutional right to freedom of speech. The Indians, Cherokee, Sioux, and the Blackfoot, were all here before the pilgrims came. Our nation’s leaders took it upon themselves to force them into schools to learn English. Many of their languages cease to exist in today’s society. Designating an official language presently may take the same risks of losing its existence. If our fore fathers came here from Great Britain to evade the King, but brought their language here, are we not technically stealing something we did not create ourselves. “In 1660, English speaking people emigrated from Ireland to North America, bringing the language with them (Momma, 2009, page 211).” Today many versions of the English language/dialect can be found and heard. There is Chinese-English, American English, English-English, and Australian-English, which one officially belongs to the United States of America' Hawaii and Alaska are part of the United States, and we have many territories, which these examples have other spoken languages. How can one country decide to turn its back on other American cultures themselves' People have evolved, just as animals and plant life have for centuries. Society as a whole has grown and we have made great technological advances to improve our sustainability. With the natural changes amongst us some good and some bad, designating a language now could become harmful. Laws would have to be established, and then the consequences of breaking said laws. Babies are born knowing language and grasping the concept of eventually using it. “Language (Lesser, 2004, page 19) we inherit at birth is our mother tongue,” wrote author Bharti Mckherjee from India whom speaks Bangula, a native language to her homeland, but learned English. Language is always growing, developing, and moving on. Language in the United States is different from state to state, area to area, and designating ONE official language could put a stop to the continents growing language. Macneil wrote, "If our language stopped changing, it would mean that American society had ceased to be dynamic, innovative, pulsing with life-that the great river had frozen up (Macneil, 2004, page 1, para. 1)." English is not an original language and should not be designated as the only language allowed in the country that claims to be the land of the free. Many languages have come together and many parts of our speech has changed over the centuries. It is like a revolving door, changes all the time. Like a river, its course is never the same. References Bex, T., & Watts, R. J. (1999). Standard english : The widening debate. London, GBR: Routledge. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action Companion to the history of the english language (2009). In Momma H., Matto M. (Eds.), . Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action Lesser, W. (2004). Genius of language : Fifteen writers reflect on their mother tongues. In Lesser W. (Ed.), Westminster, MD, USA: Knopf Publishing Group. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action'docID=10064373&p00=american%20language%20united%20states Macneil, R. (2004). Do you speak american'. Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action Milroy, J., & Milroy, L. (1998). Authority in language : Investigating standard english. London, GBR: Routledge. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action van Gelderen, E. (2006). History of the english language. Amsterdam, NLD: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action'docID=10137873&p00=english%20language