Executive Order 14224 and Its Implications for ASL and the DEAF-WORLD

Abstract: The designation of English as the official language of the United States by President Donald Trump in Executive Order 14224 is—in spite of the controversy that it has generated—in many ways not particularly noteworthy. The overwhelming majority of countries around the world have some sort of legal or constitutional recognition of one or more official languages; indeed, the United States has historically been among a very small number of exceptions. To be sure, if it has not had official status, English has functioned as the de facto dominant language throughout the history of the United States. This article is not particularly concerned here with the declaration of English as the official language of the United States except insofar as such a declaration may have implications for the status of American Sign Language (ASL). Rather, I will explore the nature of Executive Order 14224 with respect to the more general literature on language planning and language policy for sign languages internationally, then provide a summary of the situation at the state level in the United States, before closing with a discussion of the implications of this executive order for ASL in the United States.