Why is it that English is not the official language of the United States?

Allergic2Life

The Federal government has never gotten around to doing this no brainer, their too busy taking vacations. Jul 08 06, 9:29 PM

zbeckabee

They can't agree: Proponents of Official English policies, as they are termed in brief, argue that English has been the dominant language for the better part of this century and should be made the official language in order to simplify government processes. Opponents of Official English policies argue that this type of legislation is unconstitutional. http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/eres/docs/eres/GSR716A_KUECHLER/monique.htm Jul 08 06, 9:57 PM

starNumberA399

The U.S., at it's inception, was composed of various and diverse communities among the colonies. There were Germans in Pennsylvania, Dutch in New York, French and Spanish scattered throughout. From the very beginning, the U.S. has been culturally diverse and continues to be so. The Founding Fathers apparently recognized this diversity and therefore did not include any "official language" when they drafted the Constitution and other subsequent laws. My question is "Why should there be any official language?" Maybe more people need to expand their perspective and learn other languages. Don't be so lazy. Jul 08 06, 10:49 PM

bloomsby

Surely, in practice, English is the official language of the U.S. Has Congress ever legislated in any other language. How would people react if either the House of the Senate were to conduct its proceedings in Spanish? The mind boggles. Jul 09 06, 12:01 PM

helenasykes

Not meaning to offend anybody but people in the United States don't speak proper English anyway, although having said that very few people in England know how to speak English correctly so I suppose I shouldn't expect people in the United States to! Jul 09 06, 2:40 PM