Why English Should be the Official Language of the United States
In the words of the late President Ronald Reagan “by emphasizing the importance of a common language, we safeguard a proud legacy and help to ensure that America's future will be as great as her past” (Reagan). The United States has always been a country full of diversity. There are people from different countries that travel across the world to make the United States their home. With that, these people bring different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and languages. English is the main language used in the United States. However, with years of legislature, the United States still does not have an official language. Numerous people are shocked to learn the United States has no official language. Declaring English to be the official language of the United States essential because it provides a common means of communication, improves the quality of the life for all citizens, and promotes unity in the United States. The United States is known as a “melting pot”. The United States is notorious for welcoming and accepting people from different countries with different cultural backgrounds, customs, and religion beliefs. According to the Bureau of the Census “the number of people of the ago of five and older who spoke a language other than English at home has more than doubled in the last three decades and at a pace four times greater than the nation's population growth. The percentage of speakers of non-English languages grew by 140 percent while the nation's overall population grew by 34 percent.” Making English the official language of the United States will bring more people together by providing a common means of communication. “By providing a common means of communication; it encourages immigrants to learn English in order to use government services and participate in the democratic process; and it defines a much-needed common sense language policy” (U.S. English). People that travel to the United States are in hopes of making more income for their families and providing them with a better quality of life. Most of these people that do not know how to speak English seek jobs that require little to no English proficiency. Jobs such as these