Why English makes the US stronger

“Official” is a very English word.It has its roots in the Old French “oficial” and the Latin “officialis,” and now — thanks to a new Trump executive order — describes the status of the English language. President Trump’s executive action making English our official language repeals a Bill Clinton executive order that required the government, as well as groups receiving federal funds, to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Trump’s move will have little practical effect, since the increase in bilingualism in the United States has been driven by high levels of immigration from Spanish-speaking countries rather than direct government action. Still, the executive order is an important symbolic statement and its basic premises are correct.“A nationally designated language,” the executive order says, “is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language.”This is certainly true of having an overwhelmingly dominant language, whether it is technically designated the official language or not. The order is hateful and threatening to all those groups for whom e pluribus unum — to resort to a long-dead language — no longer has appeal. The communications director for the pro-immigration group United We Dream huffed, “Trump is trying to send the message that if you’re not white, rich and speak English you don’t belong here.

Let me be clear: Immigrants are here to stay.No matter how hard Trump tries, he can’t erase us.”Notably, she made her statement in English.About half of immigrants in the United States, by the way, are proficient English speakers.

Are they “erasing” themselves? The Congressional Hispanic Caucus commented, “Trump’s plan to make English official is a direct attack on our diversity and history.Millions of Americans speak other languages, and that doesn’t make them any less American.”I...