President Donald Trump has, for the first time in the history of the United States, declared English the official national language. Why has the United States never before had an official national language? How might having one now affect the United States in general and Puerto Rico in particular?
The United States has never had a national language
There have been attempts to set English as the national language in Congress since 1981, but they have never succeeded, and the founding fathers deliberately chose not the do so. John Adams was in favor of choosing English, but there were many speakers of other languages, especially German, in the new nation, and immigration to America was welcomed. The U.S. Constitution was intended to provide necessary laws for the nation, leaving many things — including language choice — up to the states.
“Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not now and has never been a monolingual country,” the Linguistic Society of America explains. “One out of five U.S. residents in 2019 reported having a language background other than English, and this diversity is nothing new…by 1664, when the British took control of the colony of New Netherland, Manhattan Island was home to speakers of 18 different immigrant languages and several Native American languages. Today, New York City, with its 800 languages, is recognized as the most linguistically diverse city in the world.”
It is in many ways un-American to even consider an official national language. It disrespects the diversity that we, as a nation of immigrants, historically prize. It conflicts with the 10th amendment, which leaves most kinds of law up to the states. It even conflicts with the first amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.”
Again, the Linguistic Society of America points out, “We know from their writings that early leaders like Thomas Jefferson took pride in their multilingualism and urged educated citizens to study languages as well. There was such a sizable German-speaking population around the time of the American Revolution that in order to ratify the Constitution in 1787 and 1788, states like Pennsylvania and New York translated and distributed copies in German and Dutch in order to ensure sufficient debate and participation. In other words, the United States has been home to significant linguistic diversity since its inception. English therefore does not have special historical standing that justifies enshrining it as the single ‘official’ language of the United States.”
Some people have wanted one
Theodore Roosevelt, a product of a significantly more racist time than ours, said that he didn’t want the United States to be “a polyglot boarding house.” He wanted a national language and he wanted it to be English. There are organizations, including U.S. English and ProEnglish, that have been working for decades to accomplish this.
30 states list English as one of their official languages:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Puerto Rico should also be on that list, since the Island has declared both English and Spanish its official languages. States with multiple official languages include Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and more.
How will the executive order affect America?
“This order recognizes and celebrates the long tradition of multilingual American citizens who have learned English and passed it to their children for generations to come,” says the executive order. “This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.”
But the meat of the order is this paragraph:
“Executive Order 13166 of August 11, 2000 (Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency), is hereby revoked; nothing in this order, however, requires or directs any change in the services provided by any agency. Agency heads should make decisions as they deem necessary to fulfill their respective agencies’ mission and efficiently provide Government services to the American people. Agency heads are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English.”
In other words, the executive order does not require anything of any agency, does not change the services supporting people who need additional help with languages, and does not require any action on the part of the American people. It does not change the U.S. Constitution and therefore does not affect the 10th amendment, which gives states the power to make their own decisions about languages. It is a symbolic announcement.
Since Puerto Rico already has both English and Spanish as official languages, this executive order has, as Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon has already pointed out, no effect whatsoever on Puerto Rico.
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