FROM MULTILINGUALISM TO MONOLINGUAL POLICY: DISCOURSE OF POWER IN THE USA

Abstract

This article critically explores the interconnection between language, power, and privilege within the multilingual framework of American society, emphasizing a significant ideological shift following President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order designating English as the official language of the United States. This unprecedented move, reversing centuries of informal multilingualism, tentatively contradicts the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and undermines foundational principles of American democracy, such as press freedom and linguistic human rights.The study is grounded in macro-sociolinguistic theory and focuses on language ideology as a mechanism of societal stratification. It examines how dominant linguistic groups gain political and economic advantages through constrained linguistic choices for minority communities–particularly Hispanic, Indigenous, and immigrant populations. Drawing on theoretical insights from social linguistics and political linguistics, the article redefines national minorities not merely as demographic groups but as political entities asserting collective rights to cultural and linguistic recognition.Historically tracing U.S. language policy from early nativist movements to the recent resurgence of the English-only agenda, the article highlights how linguistic suppression was used to marginalize Germans, Native Americans, and Spanish- speaking populations. The 2025 Trump's Executive Order 14224 is analyzed as a monolingual xenophobic ideology, that is part of his anti-migrant policy, justified by appeals to unity, efficiency, and cultural cohesion.The article further contrasts international human rights norms–such as those articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various UN covenants – with the American constitutional and legislative framework. While linguistic human rights are recognized internationally, their implementation in the U.S. remains inconsistent and often contradictory.Ultimately, this research underscores that language policy in the United States reflects deeper sociopolitical currents. It reveals how language becomes a tool of governance and control, shaping access to rights, citizenship, and identity in a society increasingly polarized over cultural and linguistic diversity.