In Plain English Let's Make It Official Summary
There are many different ethnicities in the U.S, more than any other country in the world. It varies from Latino people, Pacific Islanders, Asian American, or African American. The United States is the only country where one can find all different cultures and languages. In the United States, English is not the only language which Americans use to communicate. Vietnamese, Chinese, or Spanish is very popular in the U.S. Therefore, according to the article “In Plain English: Let’s Make It Official,” the author Krauthammer argues that English should be the official language of the United States. So what are Krauthammer’s arguments and also what are the advantages and disadvantages if English becomes the official language of the United States?Canada
…show more content…
is a country which has two of the most common languages, English and French. His first argument is that bilingualism could create many problems such as “social unrest, terrorism, threats of separation”(Krauthammer 112).
For two centuries, the U.S has the greatest success because of “the acquisition of English” (Krauthammer 112). Before the great immigration (many different type of races immigrated to the U.S), English had been a dominating language, but since the great immigration, it was no longer the dominating language. The Senate could not declare English as an official language. They only passed an amendment declaring English as the national language. (Krauthammer 112). Even the Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called that action “racist” (Krauthammer 112). His second argument is it is fine generally if only a small group of people speak their own language but when this group expands, the problem appears. The U.S has been accepting immigrants who speak their mother languages since the great immigration. For example, Brooklyn has different kinds of people speaking varieties of languages; it is still fine when they are only small groups. People can speak their own language in the street and “proudly teach it to [their] kids” (Krauthammer 112). However, all of that will change when the groups expand, more people speak their own languages and they may want the official recognition similarly to French people in Canada. Therefore, the U.S. probably has the same problems as
Canada. It would be harder to solve problems in the U.S more than in Canada because the U.S is a complicated country with several problems such as terrorism, or racism; meanwhile, Canada is simpler than the U.S. The last argument that the author wants to discuss is if one knows English, one might have a better chance to deal with the government’s business. Like the author’s dad, “tax forms, court proceedings, or ballot boxes” (Krauthammer 112) were printed in English. If he had known English better, things could have been easier for both sides.
There are many advantages of making English the “official” language of the United States. The first biggest advantage is avoiding the costs or the burden for the government. Bilingual education is estimated to cost taxpayers billions of dollars per year. The federal government has spent millions of dollars to study the effectiveness of bilingual education. Making English the official language also costs for school
is a country which has two of the most common languages, English and French. His first argument is that bilingualism could create many problems such as “social unrest, terrorism, threats of separation”(Krauthammer 112).
For two centuries, the U.S has the greatest success because of “the acquisition of English” (Krauthammer 112). Before the great immigration (many different type of races immigrated to the U.S), English had been a dominating language, but since the great immigration, it was no longer the dominating language. The Senate could not declare English as an official language. They only passed an amendment declaring English as the national language. (Krauthammer 112). Even the Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called that action “racist” (Krauthammer 112). His second argument is it is fine generally if only a small group of people speak their own language but when this group expands, the problem appears. The U.S has been accepting immigrants who speak their mother languages since the great immigration. For example, Brooklyn has different kinds of people speaking varieties of languages; it is still fine when they are only small groups. People can speak their own language in the street and “proudly teach it to [their] kids” (Krauthammer 112). However, all of that will change when the groups expand, more people speak their own languages and they may want the official recognition similarly to French people in Canada. Therefore, the U.S. probably has the same problems as
Canada. It would be harder to solve problems in the U.S more than in Canada because the U.S is a complicated country with several problems such as terrorism, or racism; meanwhile, Canada is simpler than the U.S. The last argument that the author wants to discuss is if one knows English, one might have a better chance to deal with the government’s business. Like the author’s dad, “tax forms, court proceedings, or ballot boxes” (Krauthammer 112) were printed in English. If he had known English better, things could have been easier for both sides.
There are many advantages of making English the “official” language of the United States. The first biggest advantage is avoiding the costs or the burden for the government. Bilingual education is estimated to cost taxpayers billions of dollars per year. The federal government has spent millions of dollars to study the effectiveness of bilingual education. Making English the official language also costs for school