By Colette Córdova
March 2, 2025: On Saturday, March 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring English the official language of the United States, which reversed a policy from the Clinton administration. The order grants federal agencies and organizations the autonomy to decide whether they will continue offering services and documents in languages other than English, thus rescinding a mandate from former President Bill Clinton requiring entities provide language assistance to those who do not speak English.
As one who grew up in a bicultural household and embraces the concept of being multilingual, this comes as an affront to those who do not have English as their “crib” language. Language is culture. If you take away someone’s language, or in essence make them feel it is the lessor or inferior language to the dominant one, in this case English, it can be traumatic. Your language is your identity as is your name. Native Americans suffered trauma when made to change their names and had their languages taken away. In extreme cases, they were moved to dormitories to live in far off places away from their parents and were forced into the dominant culture stripped of their culture and language.
Did you know that Eskimos have multiple ways of saying the word snow? The French also have many more words for emotional expressions than the German language. Did you know there are multiple ways of saying the word kite in Spanish? The Spaniards and other countries say “cometa”, in Mexico they use “papalote”, and in Puerto Rico “chiringa” among others. Each region has influences of native, indigenous languages influencing their words. The word Michigan is a native word as is Maumee, both which are just taken for granted as part of the English vernacular.
Language is fluid and changes over time. As new concepts or inventions are thought of, new words come into existence such as in the world of technology: Internet, World Wide Web, smart phone, laptop, etc. Language is a form of communication where each group uses it for their own culture, whether that be the work culture to exchange information to get tasks done. For example, insurance companies have a special code they speak. In the hospital culture they use medical terms they’ve studied to execute their practice, or lawyers who have words to define the laws. Cultures of people also have their own language which is not only used to exchange information, but just for day-to-day life for food, shopping, family events, or other endeavors. Also, people use it for communicating on a deeper level to express one’s needs, emotions, thoughts, spirituality, or expressions of love and friendship.
Language is part of who you are, your identity, and self-concept. All languages are equal. I would encourage all organizations who are providing assistance to non-English speakers to continue so learners too can participate while they acquire English and adapt to a new environment. By not continuing this assistance, the impact would be enormous not allowing the non-English speaker the ability to communicate and their right to get their basic needs met as a human being. We are a country of many languages and need to continue to be a compassionate people. I encourage everyone reading this to learn a second language, especially those who only speak English to broaden their horizons and appreciate the difficulties that arise when one learns another language.