Language has always been an important part of a country"s culture and way of life. was founded, it was common to hear as many as 20 languages spoken along with many documents that were printed in different languages. There have been many debates over establishing a national language, and a movement arose that strives to establish English as the nation"s official language. This movement is known as the "English Only" movement, and it "promotes the enactment of legislation that restricts or prohibits the use of languages other than English by government agencies and, in some cases, by private businesses" (ALCU). Many people whom support the "English Only" movement believes that multilingualism is too costly and inefficient for the government to operate in. Making English as an official language will have little day-to-day effect on the population and their lifestyles or private lives. They believe that declaring English as the official language is the fairest way to handle over 300 languages spoken in the U.S. (LIA). .

             Many people support multilingualism and oppose having English as an official language because it is unfair to individuals who are not fluent in English. Also, they create false stereotypes of immigrants and non-English speakers. They conclude that it violates the diversity embodied in our Constitution, creating restrictions and limits instead of protecting individual rights, and it does not help the integration of language minority citizens into the American mainstream. .

             I personally support keeping the U.S. as a multilingual nation. I feel that the nation is running smoothly enough and it does not need to be changed in that way. There are many nations that hold multiple official languages that run very smoothly. I do not see why it is necessary for our nation to require English to be an official language with more than 30 percent of the nation coming from a different ethnic group or culture.