English U.S. Official Language

[JustinW]

I work quite a bit with federal regulations and under the reg for HAZ-COM labeling it states that labels have to be marked clearly and in english. By having a federal law that mandates the use of english wouldn't that indirectly make english the U.S.'s official language.

[JohnB]

Not neccessarily.

 

English is a required language for all international airline pilots. So would that make english the official language of Japan since all JAL pilots are required to speak it?

 

It's just a regulation.

[imatfaal]

Agree with John. additionally you cannot really move from de facto to de jure - what happens in fact and is widely accepted as correct will often coincide with the law and official recognition, but (even in common law states like the usa) it is not the same; ie you cannot have an unofficial official language..

[CaptainPanic]

There's a fundamental difference between the example that JohnB gives and the issue that JustinW explains.

 

JAL airline pilots are on a closed communications network, and English is the chosen language. But the HAZ-COM labeling is a regulation which is meant to be a communication between a producer of chemicals, and the general public (anyone who buys it).

 

Since an official language of a country is obviously meant for communication with the general public, the example is not valid. From JohnB's example, we may only conclude that the official language of international air traffic control is English. But we cannot conclude anything about Japan's national language.

 

I think that if a government creates some regulations which state that English is the only language necessary on any hazard labels, then the answer to the OP's questions is "Yes, in practice it is the official language.".

[imatfaal]

There's a fundamental difference between the example that JohnB gives and the issue that JustinW explains.

 

JAL airline pilots are on a closed communications network, and English is the chosen language. But the HAZ-COM labeling is a regulation which is meant to be a communication between a producer of chemicals, and the general public (anyone who buys it).

 

Since an official language of a country is obviously meant for communication with the general public, the example is not valid. From JohnB's example, we may only conclude that the official language of international air traffic control is English. But we cannot conclude anything about Japan's national language.

 

I think that if a government creates some regulations which state that English is the only language necessary on any hazard labels, then the answer to the OP's questions is "Yes, in practice it is the official language.".

 

Yes but practice does not dictate what is official - 'in practice' and 'official' in this usage are exclusive, it is can be a matter of fact or of law, or in some cases might be both - but one does not imply the other. english is, without doubt, the de facto language of the united states - but it cannot be the official language without some form of law stating this.

[CaptainPanic]

Yes but practice does not dictate what is official - 'in practice' and 'official' in this usage are exclusive, it is can be a matter of fact or of law, or in some cases might be both - but one does not imply the other. english is, without doubt, the de facto language of the united states - but it cannot be the official language without some form of law stating this.

Good point.

 

So, the answer to the question is: No, nothing can directly or indirectly make English the official language of the USA, other than a law that specifically states that English is the official language.

 

It's a pretty boring answer, actually.

[TonyMcC]

Apparently the USA is one of a large number of countries that doesn't have an official language. This surprises me. http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/officialamerican/

[CaptainPanic]

Does that mean that congress can dream up some new laws, and decide to put them into the book of laws in Spanish or French, if they like?

[Phi for All]

Does that mean that congress can dream up some new laws, and decide to put them into the book of laws in Spanish or French, if they like?

I really wish they would. This would accomplish several things. Congress would be showing the people that we've gotten along quite well up to this point without an official national language law, and that only something unlikely and drastic would ever create a need for one. It would also point out that we don't need a law for every damn thing, that common sense can be quite powerful when used more than occasionally. And lastly, since the majority of US citizens have no appreciation of subtlety, they would completely miss the point and have every member of Congress removed so we could start fresh.

[JustinW]

I wouldn't say it is unofficial. It is actually a law that if broken a company can be fined a substatial amount of money for. And, since it is FEDERAL law it would make it official, wouldn't it? You can check it out if you like. It is Title 30 Code of Federal Regulations part 47.42 paragraph (a). A punishable law seems official to me.

[michel123456]

Apparently the USA is one of a large number of countries that doesn't have an official language. This surprises me. http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/officialamerican/

 

Me too. Applause for the Americans.

[Phi for All]

I wouldn't say it is unofficial. It is actually a law that if broken a company can be fined a substatial amount of money for. And, since it is FEDERAL law it would make it official, wouldn't it? You can check it out if you like. It is Title 30 Code of Federal Regulations part 47.42 paragraph (a). A punishable law seems official to me.

They're not saying your hazmat reg is unofficial. It's an official regulation that affects only the manufacturers of hazardous materials. And only when they have to label something hazardous:

 

§ 47.42 Label contents.

 

When an operator must make a label, the label must—

 

(a) Be prominently displayed, legible, accurate, and in English;

 

(b) Display appropriate hazard warnings;

 

© Use a chemical identity that permits cross-referencing between the list of hazardous chemicals, a chemical's label, and its MSDS; and

 

(d) Include on labels for customers, the name and address of the operator or another responsible party who can provide additional information about the hazardous chemical.

It's too specific and brief to be anywhere near what the government would need to make English the official language of the whole country.

 

It's just basically saying that if you are going to sell your hazardous products in the US, you have to warn people, in English, and provide enough information that they can check it out before using it.

[JustinW]

Yeah it is pretty brief. I looked into it a little more and didn't know how many states had already passed legislation on so called Enlgish-Only Laws. But I agree you have proved your point that 1 regulation so specific is not enough to establish such a thing. Even when I think about it another way, adding an official language either way would be a hard piece of legislation to enforce.

 

 

[John Cuthber]

If that law required a gas cylinder of SO2 to be labelled "Sulfur Dioxide" rather than with the English spelling would it show that they didn't know what they were talking about?

 

Will they rename the dept of labour to enforce the rules?

[CaptainPanic]

If that law required a gas cylinder of SO2 to be labelled "Sulfur Dioxide" rather than with the English spelling would it show that they didn't know what they were talking about?

 

Will they rename the dept of labour to enforce the rules?

Good point! Maybe that's why they don't want to have English as the official language. Americans stopped speaking English a long time ago, and replaced it with their own version of it, which they inconveniently still call English.

 

We might be getting to the core of the problem here, which is an American minority complex about not having their own language.

 

For those who have a very different sense of humor than me: I'm joking here.