In the United States, cultural pluralism and the governmental programs it has
inspired, such as bilingual education and multilingual ballots, have convinced
many recent immigrants that it is not necessary to learn English to become an
American. Some immigrants have not only failed to assimilate into the
mainstream, but have refused to assimilate. These individuals feel encouraged to
change the society in which they have settled, instead of assimilating into that
society. Attempts to declare English as the official language have been branded
as a conspiracy to undermine minority languages and cultures. This book
discusses the need for English to be declared the official language of the
United