The United States has been witnessing a growing demand to make English its sole official language. As of now, the US does not have any official language of its own, though English is spoken as the native language by 82 per cent of the population. On the other hand, 96 per cent of the US people either speak English ‘well’ or ‘very well.’ All those who support the idea of US adopting English as its official language underscore that they are not saying that English be the only spoken language. They add that they only want it to be the sole language used in dealing with the government.

After English, it is Spanish that is widely spoken in the United States by around 30 million people or 13 per cent of the population. The senate in the US had even passed a bill in May 2006 that when passed would declare English as the national language. But it lapsed off after the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to see eye to eye on the issue. This year such bills are under consideration in 19 legislatures. The only exemption has been provided to communications pertaining public health and safety and those related to tourism.