Trump declares English as US official language

President Donald Trump on Saturday designated English as the official language of the United States.

Trump stated that this would bring cohesion to a country shaped by immigration from around the world.

The White House published an executive order in which Trump declared it was “long past time” for English to be officially recognised as the nation’s primary language.

“A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language,” the document states.

The order revoked a presidential mandate from the 1990s under then-President Bill Clinton, which required federal agencies and organisations receiving federal funding to assist non-English speakers.

According to the new directive, agencies will still have the flexibility to decide how much support to offer in languages other than English.

“Nothing in this order… requires or directs any change in the services provided by any agency,” the executive order states.

It adds that agency heads are empowered to determine what is necessary “to fulfil their respective agencies’ missions and efficiently provide government services to the American people.”

Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders in his first weeks in office, seeking to impose his right-wing policies on the country.

However, many of his orders are being challenged in court, particularly those that attempt to annul federal funding approved by Congress.

While the White House acknowledges that more than 350 languages are spoken in the United States, the order asserts that English has been the nation’s language “since the founding of our Republic,” and that “our nation’s historic governing documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, have all been written in English.”

Nearly 68 million people speak a language other than English at home, according to US government figures from 2019.

While English is by far the dominant language in the country, more than 40 million people in America are estimated to speak Spanish at home.

Alongside other immigrant languages, including Chinese and Vietnamese, the US linguistic landscape also features numerous Native American languages.

AFP