Trump makes English the official language of the United States: why wasn't it?
Linguistic diversity was a founding pillar of the country and is now seen as a threat, even though almost 100% of the population speaks English
BarcelonaPresident Donald Trump has designated English as the official language of the United States. On March 1, a new statement emerged from the Oval Office. executive order which, for the first time in history, determined that the country has "one - and only one - official language." Trump justifies this because this "will not only speed up communication, but will also reinforce shared national values and create a more cohesive and efficient society."
Until now, there were 32 states of the 50 that make up the United States that had made English official as a public and administrative language, but it was not official at the federal level. Neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution mention any language, "but they are written in English," Trump's order specifies. De facto, English has become the dominant language, and in fact it is the language that those who wish to obtain American citizenship must know how to write, read and speak.
Why was it not an official language?
The linguistic diversity of the United States dates back as far as the country's founding. Where dozens of indigenous languages already existed, colonies were established that functioned in English, but also in French, Dutch and German. The idea of not defining any official language was intended to avoid linguistic clashes and prioritize individual freedoms and rights. Curiously, in the name of the same rights, this 2025 Trump determines that English must definitely be the only common language.
The Republican president defends in the text: "Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but helps newcomers participate in their communities, in national traditions and contribute to our society." This is what entities such as US English defend: reducing spending, progress and social cohesion. Those who are detractors believe that it is a way to stigmatize linguistic minorities, to increase the feeling of threat and to promote hatred towards immigrants. For UPF professor and expert on multilingualism and immigration Vincent Climent-Ferrado, "behind a do-good narrative, with the refrain of integration and progress, language becomes an instrument of immigration control." Climent-Ferrado has studied how language has already been used to deny nationality in European countries such as Holland, France and Germany. This is what he predicts Trump wants to do in the US: "The entry of immigrants can be conditioned or expulsion orders signed for not having a sufficient level of language, and this level can change," he points out.
Diversity, a danger?
In Trump's order he points out two facts: he directly targets immigrants and says that English will be "the only" official language. This leaves in limbo the states that have other languages as official apart from English, such as Hawaii (Hawaiian), South Dakota (Sioux), Alaska (has 24 official languages), New Mexico or Puerto Rico (Spanish). "We will have to see if they should repeal the official status because the decree prevails," says the UPF professor.
The decree celebrates the "long tradition" of citizens "who have learned English and have passed it on to their children for future generations," a rhetoric similar to that of a threatened language. The issue is not that not enough English is spoken, because 78% of American households speak exclusively this language, 91% of citizens say they speak English very good and 8.4% also speak it non-English. so good, so the real percentage of non-English speakers is tiny. What bothers Republicans is that there are more and more people who also speak other languages (three times more than in 1980) because there are more immigrants, about 15% (in Catalonia there are 22.5% born abroad).
The Hispanic community is growing
It is estimated that there are about 430 languages spoken in the United States (160 Native American languages). About 68 million people, out of the 340 million residents of the United States, speak a language other than English. The most predominant language is Spanish, but then there are Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, Korean, Russian, etc. Sixty percent of immigrants are Spanish-speaking: 43 million Americans speak Spanish and it is estimated that another 15 million have it as their first language (that is, more than 58 million, ten million more than the inhabitants of Spain). "As this Spanish-speaking community grows, it becomes more apparent that English is not an official language. With this decree, Trump is being harsh with immigrants and is reinforcing the most extreme Republican movement. Linguistically, it makes no sense. It is a political exploitation of a linguistic fact, because English is clearly superior in numbers and symbolically. Spanish in Catalonia," says Climent-Ferrado.
The order, in addition to symbolism, has practical effects. The important thing is that federal agencies and organizations, which until now were obliged to offer their services and information in several languages, will now be able to choose whether they want to do so only in English, because an order from President Clinton in 2000 is being rescinded. Trump has already taken other steps to eliminate inclusion and diversity policies in the administration. In the previous term, the Spanish version of the White House website was closed, and now the X account.
Until now, there had been several attempts over the decades to change the Constitution and guarantee the official status of English, with movements such as EnglishOnly, but they had been unsuccessful or unnecessary. Finally, it is official de jure, in the form of a decree. It remains to be seen whether the Republican majority in both chambers will make this historic decision also appear in the constitution.
