Moving to New York City twelve years ago was one of the best decisions my husband and I made when we left Argentina. The city’s linguistic diversity played a huge role in our choice. Spanish, our mother tongue, was widely spoken, and we found it easy to enroll our two-year-old son in a dual-language program at his preschool. Now, he’s learning his third language in middle school. We quickly built a community of friends who were all bilingual or multilingual, speaking various dialects of Spanish, as well as languages like Russian, Hebrew, Mandarin, French, Turkish, Hindi, and Arabic. English became our common language, and we even have a map in our home office that shows the different languages spoken in Queens, highlighting the borough’s status as the world’s languages capital.
The United States is now home to hundreds of languages, with estimates ranging from three hundred and fifty to over a thousand. New York alone boasts seven hundred and fifty languages, according to the Endangered Language Alliance. Despite this rich linguistic tapestry, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the country. While some view this as a symbolic gesture, others fear it could lead to discrimination against non-English speakers in areas like education and healthcare. The move marks a shift from the country’s longstanding tradition of embracing multilingualism, with Trump citing the need for a unified society as the reason for the change.
The push for English-only policies is not new, with past efforts dating back to the nineteen-eighties. Figures like Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa, a proponent of immigrant assimilation, played a key role in advocating for English as the exclusive language of the federal government. Despite failed attempts in the past, the recent executive order reflects a growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the country. Organizations dedicated to language education and diversity have spoken out against the move, highlighting the benefits of multilingualism in a globalized world. While proponents of the English-only movement argue for unity, critics warn of the social divisiveness and potential harm to individuals who are not proficient in English. As the country grapples with its linguistic identity, the debate over the role of language in shaping national unity continues to unfold.
