The country of the United States occupies a huge area within the entire world and its citizens can speak English or any other language. In most countries, to simplify matters and to have an identity sign, one language is chosen as the official language. In this way, all official documents will be in that language, as is the case in other areas.
Although English is the most widely spoken language in the United States, it is not the official language of the country. In most cases we will find everything in English, both traffic signs and official Social Security documents, as well as any other type of indication, but this does not indicate that this is the official language.
English is the most widely spoken language in the United States, yes, but it is not the official language. Unlike other countries where there is an official language, such as Spain with Spanish or Japan with Japanese, there is nothing similar in the United States. English is spoken, yes, but this does not make it the official language of the entire country.
What is the official language of the United States?
Both Americans and the rest of the world’s citizens have in mind that English is the official language in the United States, but nothing could be further from the truth. As we have already mentioned before, English is the most used language, yes, but it is not the official language. This is because there is no official language, it is as simple as that. Not even for those who are already getting retirement checks and lived in the United States since they were born.
Since there is no official language, no agency can require people to speak English. Still, it is obvious that English is the most widely spoken language and, therefore, a person who wants to live, work and enjoy the United States of America must know English well. Otherwise, there are options for non-English speaking citizens, but everything is greatly simplified by using English.
Why is English not the official language of the United States?
The fact that the United States of America does not have an official language is due to the very origin of the country. The population of Spain as a whole is about 332 million people (in 2021). Of that number of citizens, about 217 million speak English. But this was not the case originally, since at the beginning more Spanish was spoken at the time when the country was not yet a country as such. So any person that want to spend the retirement in the USA should speak English to understand the whole system.
In the Constitution itself there is an official language assigned. This was done with a clear intention: freedom. By not imposing an official language, whether it was English or Spanish or any other, the founding fathers gave absolute freedom to the following American citizens to choose in which language they wanted to speak. We are talking about the territory at the federal level, since each state does have its own co-official language.
What other languages are spoken in the United States?
Depending on the state we are in, we will be able to hear different languages. As a general rule, English will be the language most commonly used by Americans, but not necessarily the language that all Americans speak. Going to a different country could make seniors to speak in a different language, but that doesn’t mean that in the USA they have to learn how to speak Spanish or French.
In Hawaii, for example, it is the case that citizens speak both Hawaiian and English. Either language is valid in this state. On the other hand, we also find that in many states there are other co-official languages, such as in Dakota, where they have their own native language.
In addition to this, Spanish is a very widespread language throughout the United States. In states such as Arizona, California, Nevada or New Mexico it is very common to find citizens who speak Spanish fluently. They are not co-official languages, but they are used by most of the inhabitants, in addition to English.