When English Becomes Official: Who Gets Left Out?

How Executive Order 14,224 risks sidelining multilingual communities in the name of unity

By Valentina Vignolo Love — Linguist & CEO, TranslationsInLondon

On July 14, 2025, a memo from the U.S. Attorney General confirmed the implementation of Executive Order 14,224, declaring English as the official language of the United States. It marks a historic moment — not only in policy, but in the way we define belonging, voice, and national identity.

As a linguist, translator, and CEO of a language services company, I’ve spent my career navigating the intersection between language and power. And while English has long been the de facto working language of the U.S., it’s important to remember:

Until now, the country had no federally designated official language. That fact wasn’t a flaw — it was a feature.

Language Is Never Just a Tool — It’s an Identity

The memo claims that “a shared language binds Americans together,” yet in practice, language is one of the most powerful ways we differentiate ourselves — culturally, historically, even emotionally.

One of my former professors, John Douthwaite, writes in The Language of Brexit about how political discourse often reduces language to a symbol of unity — even when it silences. He explains:

“The way we use language does more than reflect political reality — it actively shapes it. By choosing certain frames, metaphors, and identities, political actors can guide people toward a particular worldview.”
— John Douthwaite, The Language of Brexit (2019)

This executive order follows that pattern. It promotes efficiency, clarity, and cost-effectiveness — but at what cost?

The Reality: America Is Multilingual — And Always Has Been

Over 67 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home. From Spanish and Mandarin to Somali and Diné, these languages are not “barriers” — they are part of the American experience.

Many Indigenous languages existed here long before English did. The U.S. has been shaped by successive waves of migration, each bringing new languages, dialects, and ways of seeing the world. To flatten all of that into “one official language” is not a unifying act — it’s a reductive one.

The Hidden Risks of This Policy

Reduced availability of translation and interpreting services
Increased difficulty accessing healthcare, justice, and education for millions
The potential dismantling of multilingual government communications

This disproportionately affects migrants, refugees, Indigenous communities, and linguistic minorities — people already underrepresented in policy discussions.

Unity Doesn’t Require Uniformity

In practice, translation isn’t just about converting words. It’s about preserving dignity, ensuring access, and bridging lived experiences across cultures.

That’s what we do every day at TranslationsInLondon — and it’s what thousands of linguists and interpreters across the U.S. are quietly doing to hold civic systems together.

Declaring English official won’t solve communication challenges — it may deepen them by excluding those who need to be heard the most.

Let’s Not Shrink the American Dream

This executive order may speak of unity, but unity without equity is just a slogan. We can — and should — support English acquisition, encourage civic participation, and still protect multilingual access as a democratic right.

In 2025, linguistic diversity is not a threat to national cohesion. It’s a reflection of who Americans already are.

Tagging @John Douthwaite — for his ongoing work on the politics of language and identity.