Preface: This was written for my English Composition I class and submitted August 23, 2010.
Research Proposal: Designating English as the official language of the United States
The subject matter of this research will be the varying perspectives surrounding designating English as the official language of the United States. Information will be presented as a result of research within this topic and the alternatives regarding the same. This topic is extremely controversial among many groups; both political and non-political. The underlying ramifications of a decision; or lack thereof, many may not realize, but will be presented thoroughly. The mere implications of a decision finally being made on the topic on a nationwide basis, as well as a statewide level, will be weighed against each other.
Currently, and surprisingly, there is no official language designated for the United States of America. Should English be that official language for our nation? The voting public is very divided; with some stating that the United States should remain language-less, others claim it should be Spanish, while another viewpoint is to choose multilingualism, and even some claim an unrecognized language of “American” should become the new official language. There are many views on this topic, heated debates, and political upheavals by both citizens and illegal immigrants of various backgrounds, not only the English and non-English speaking.
This research effort shall present several aspects concerning English as the official language of the United States including, but not limited to; language choices aside from English that are being presented as the official language, the financial ramifications between having and not having an official language, a brief history on the nature of English as the official language of the nation, a brief overview of the legal actions related to the same; and any incidental information that is deemed relevant pursuant to the nature of the research intentions.
The entirety of the data collection for this research project will be done online through the utilization of various web-based resources. There are many websites that have adequate information, both biased and unbiased, to sort through during the research process. The researcher intends on making use of online search databases for the primary source of information such as Google Scholar, ProQuest, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), the World Book Online, Bing, and additional resources not yet determined that are available by means of the Ashford Library; all of which will serve as resources in locating secondary topic specific articles. The researcher intends to employ sites such as www.USConstitution.net, www.EnglishFirst.org, www.StrictlySpanish.com, and U.S. English, Inc for information available representing varied viewpoints, historical data, legal actions, and more; which will provide the necessary resources specific to this topic, however with some bias to filter through.
Preliminary findings show that complacency is not the answer and the people need to answer a call for action by deciding on an official language for the nation. The researcher has initially concluded that by a popular vote of the people determining an official language of the United States, the financial strain alone that is caused by lack thereof could dramatically affect the economic status of the nation, for the better. The ensuing government employee wages and tangible costs incurred (associated with printing, translation services, and more) as a result of complying with a multilingualist nation, by default not choice, forces on the taxpayers and economy a far worse state than a decision on the same could ever invoke.
Declaration of the English language as the official language of the United States has an enormous fiscal impact on the economy resulting from the financial drain that failing to decide on the same forces through the necessity of multilingual communication accommodations within all levels of government both locally and nationwide. Aside from financial implications, the resulting solidarity that would be established by the determination of such an official language is pivotal in the unification of the people as a nation, which is an important national temperament that is beneficial to all interested parties.
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2010 Copyright by Shannon Peace
