Should English be Law essays

Should English be Law essays From the article Should English Be the Law Robert D. King disputes the controversial issue of linguistics in the U.S. Mr. Kings views on immigration and nationality will be analyzed. The pros and cons of a multi-linguistic country are discussed along with the negative effects on countries that currently operate under a multi-linguistic commonality. English as the official language is becoming more of an issue in modern day society. Since there was no need to legislate English as the official language, our constitution is silent in the issue (King, 239). The idea of English as the official language was first proposed in 1975 as an amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (King). In 1981 Senator S. I. Hayakawa introduced to the U.S. senate a constitutional amendment that not only would have made English the official language, but prohibited federal law as well as state law to require the use of the language (King, 240). The legislation was unpopular and did not pass through the 97th Congress. Mr. Hayakawas view were forgotten and in submission until 1986, when ten states passed official language initiatives. The votes were substantial enough to gain the attention of Congress. Many politicians as well as the American public opposed the idea at the time, but the question was still pertinent in the states. Is America threatened by the preservation of other languages, other than English (King 242)? Though a relatively new issue in the United States, the trouble of a multi-lingual society has been prevalent for years. Language has been known in many different societies to be the main cause of division among several world nations. After the first World War, it came to drawing the boundary lines for various countries and it was principally language that guided the draftsmans hand (King 244). Due to the language barrier, many of ...