Summary Of Bilingualism In America English Be The Official Language

For many centuries, the United States has been free to make its own decisions and pass laws to regulate its citizens. Diversity of this country has grown to resemble a large melting pot of cultures, traditions, and most importantly, languages. Today, in the US alone, there are over 300 global languages spoken in households. While English has come to dominate in the US, 236 years later it still has not been made the official language for more or less the same reason it wasn’t in 1780. Many critics have argued that by declaring English as the official language, we are violating the First Amendment guaranteeing US citizens the freedom of speech. Those who oppose this perspective, such as S.I Hayakawa, have argued that the use of hundreds of

For these reasons, S.I Hayakawa in his essay, Bilingualism in America: English Should Be the Official Language, argues that English should be declared the official language of the US. S.I Hayakawa’s sophisticated use of ethos, exemplification, and tone expresses his unfavorable attitude toward bilingualism and his enthusiasm for the implementation of English as the official language. With this change taking place in our society, it will provide better opportunities for those who don’t speak English as their first language, to learn and thus unite the country further binding us to common ideologies and mutual purpose. Hayakawa’s strong use of ethos is the principle rhetorical strategy he uses to create a very supported and believable argument. In this passage, he relies heavily on his past experiences to support his point in his argument on why English should be the official language of the US. An example of this, includes his reference to his leading role regarding the establishing of

It allows the reader to expand on the reasoning of the argument. The descriptive detail and examples are comprised of quotes from political leaders and evidence from other countries. The first example Hayakawa uses in supporting his argument is when he reference the quotes of political leader, Maurice Fierre. He uses the quote to expand on the counter argument of those who oppose making English the official language by demonstrating the point of view which comprises their perspective. The effect of the quote is to address the other side of this debated topic and show that the author has taken it into account before refuting it and transitioning into why the opposing perspective is false. The most prominent example of the author’s use of exemplification includes the example toward the end of the excerpt regarding India and their use of a multilingual system and the effect it has on their function of society. He addresses the fact that India does function with so many languages but it doesn’t function efficiently. He then goes ahead to say that since this system isn’t very efficient even Indians turn to the use of English to effectively communicate ideas and regulate economy. This example addresses how the use of unofficial language has created instability and further emphasizes Hayakawa’s