This was not a popular notion largely because Americans at the time spoke a variety of languages. So the idea of picking one of the more popular ones and making it the official language was seen as “undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty”.
• Since you mentioned "England" specifically: England does not have its own Parliament separate from the rest of the UK, although Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland now have them in one form or another. Given the politics of Scots nationalism and Welsh language revival in particular, having the whole-UK Parliament declare English to be an official language would probably be seen as a slap in the face and would exacerbate separatist tensions.
there are several other living languages indigenous to the country, various regional dialects, and numerous languages spoken by recent immigrant populations
The USA does not have an official language, however, several states have declared English an official language. The U.S. should not be included in this list, and the map shouldbe changed to only reflect states that have passed measures recognizing English as an official language.
Puerto Rico has adopted English as an official language (along with Spanish). It should be added to the list and disclaimers should be used to indicate official co-language of the island.--XLR8TION 13:46, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
The article already mentions the de facto status of English in the US, UK, and New Zealand. It would not be useful to exclude the country with the largest English speaking population from this list. --Ghewgill 06:27, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
I have expanded that passage slightly to try to make clear that parts of the US and UK do have de jure official languages. -- Avenue 07:52, 6 July 2006 (UTC)