• Background
• Debate: Immigrants should learn the most widely used language v. National language equals discrimination
• Country Comparison: Many countries have national or official languages
• Recent Legislation: 2007 Senate Bill, Pending House bills

Background

Debate

• One side claims that the U.S. government should only be required to operate in English as a means of making it necessary for immigrants to learn English before receiving any benefits. This reasoning that follows is that a vast majority of people in the U.S. speak English, and most of those who do not are illegal immigrants. The immigration wave between 1860s-1920s is often cited to further this argument, which states that immigrants of this era worked very hard to learn English. Today, many immigrants neglect to adopt the English language and hope to be accommodated by the public sector.

• The opposite side argues that the government and any other public organization that refused to aid non-English speakers would be participating in discrimination if it were the national language. Opponents of defining a national language feel that the government has the responsibility to provide translations, especially to Spanish speakers, by far the largest non-English speaking group.

Country Comparison

• Although there are many different languages and dialects in China, the Beijing form of Mandarin has become the national language.
• India has 23 official languages, but no national language. In some ways English serves as a de facto national language as it is commonly used in higher education and government as a means of communication between the states.(Source: CIA World Factbook)
• Irish is the primary constitutional language of Ireland, though English is the de facto language of the nation. Only 1% of the population learns Irish first, though 42% of adults can speak it. The government promotes a bilingual society.
• Filipino and English are the national languages in the Philippines although there are over 170 spoken languages in the country.
• In Singapore, Malay is the national language as it is the native language of Malay Singaporeans, who were the majority, but as a result of massive Chinese immigration, now make up only 14% of the population.(Source: CIA World Factbook)

Recent Legislation

• On 8 May 2007, Senator James Inhofe (R-Ok) introduced Senate Bill S.1335, which would declare English as the official language of the US government by requiring that official activities are conducted in English, all Federal bilingual voting requirements are repealed, and naturalization ceremonies are conducted solely in English.(Source: Library of Congress)
• At present, there are several related bills pending in the House of Representatives.