English is not the official language of the United States of America.

The U.S. of A. is one of the 8 percent of countries in the world that does not have an official language. While this may appear shocking on the surface, it is reflective of the “melting pot” mentality the country has held since the 19th century, when thousands of immigrants moved through Ellis Island.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, around 215 million people speak English as their main language. Other major languages include Spanish (28 million), Chinese languages (two million), French (1.6 million) and German (1.4 million).

Some states, such as North Carolina, have established English as the official state language. Another state that has done this is Arizona, where a city council candidate was prevented from running because of her limited English skills.

Alejandra Cabrera, a U.S. citizen who resides in San Luis, Ariz., was disqualified from running for office because of what a Yuma County Superior Court judge called a “large gap” between her language skills and what is needed to serve as a public official.

“I speak English and I read and I write,” she said in an interview with Reuters. “I know my English is not proficient, but I can understand and I can answer. For San Luis, Ariz., it is enough.”

San Luis is just across the Mexican border and workers from Mexico come into the town daily for work.

In a less political example, the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens hired Randy Cunneyworth to replace fired Head Coach Jacques Martin Dec. 17, 2011.

Cunneyworth is the first Canadiens’ coach to not speak French since 1971. Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre criticized the hiring, and Canadiens owner Geoff Molson promised that the new permanent head coach would speak both English and French.

Cunneyworth has promised that he is trying to learn the language and sees the importance of the culture of the Canadiens, the NHL’s most storied team with deep ties to its Quebec roots.

The question at play is this: How important is knowing the language to doing your job? In Cunneyworth’s position, players, for the most part, know English.

If they’re from the French-speaking provinces in Canada, it is likely they know French as well. So Cunneyworth can easily communicate with his players, but the tradition of speaking French is cause for concern for Canadiens fans.

In Cabrera’s spot, the question becomes entirely more broad. With 16.3 percent of the American population identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino in the 2010 U.S. Census, Cabrera is part of the largest minority of the American population.

This ruling is ridiculous. Like the Cunneyworth debacle, Cabrera appears to know enough to get by and to do her job. In theory, that should be enough for anyone.

Maybe it is insensitivity to things being done differently. All of the laws on the books in the United States are written in English, and all of the Congressional discourse is done in English.

But, considering the area in which Cabrera is seeking election, with a constant stream of Latinos, her candidacy is not only allowable, but essential.

In a country that prides itself on being acceptable to many nationalities and ethnicities, this sort of discrimination should not be happening.

Yet, with all four remaining GOP presidential candidates pushing for new legislation to make English the official language of the United States, it unfortunately may continue.

[box]The following states recognize English as their official language:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming [/box]