Posted on 11/03/2023 9:05:14 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
While 78% of Americans speak only English at home, between 350 and 430 languages can be found in the United States.
Spanish is the second most common language, spoken in 62% of non-English-speaking households.
In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti and WordFinderX used Census data to uncover the most spoken languages (aside from English and Spanish) in American neighborhoods.
During the mid-18th century, German immigrants played a significant role in early American society. They constituted one-third of the population of American colonies, ranking second in numbers only to the English.
As a consequence, German now stands as the third most prevalent language in 13 states, with over 40 million Americans claiming German ancestry.
State | Most Spoken Language (Besides English and Spanish) |
---|---|
Alaska | Aleut languages |
Alabama | German |
Arkansas | German |
Arizona | Navajo |
California | Chinese |
Colorado | German |
Connecticut | Portuguese |
District of Columbia | French |
Delaware | Chinese |
Florida | Haitian |
Georgia | Korean |
Hawaii | Japanese |
Iowa | Arabic |
Idaho | German |
Illinois | Polish |
Indiana | German |
Kansas | Chinese |
Kentucky | German |
Louisiana | French |
Massachusetts | Portuguese |
Maryland | French |
Maine | French |
Michigan | Arabic |
Minnesota | Hmong |
Missouri | German |
Mississippi | Vietnamese |
Montana | German |
North Carolina | French |
North Dakota | German |
Nebraska | German |
New Hampshire | French |
New Jersey | Portuguese |
New Mexico | Navajo |
Nevada | Tagalog |
New York | Chinese |
Ohio | Arabic |
Oklahoma | Vietnamese |
Oregon | Russian |
Pennsylvania | Chinese |
Rhode Island | Portuguese |
South Carolina | French |
South Dakota | Dakota languages |
Tennessee | Arabic |
Texas | Vietnamese |
Utah | Portuguese |
Virginia | Korean |
Vermont | French |
Washington | Chinese |
Wisconsin | German |
West Virginia | German |
Wyoming | German |
From military aid to ideological support, France played a pivotal role in the success of the American Revolution. More than two centuries later, approximately 9.4 million people in the U.S. claim French or French-Canadian ancestry.
In the Midwest, French stands as the most spoken language (following English and Spanish) in four major cities.
In the Midwest’s largest city, Chicago, Polish is the third-most common spoken language.
The American West is home to 45% of all U.S. Asians, making Asian languages the most spoken in many cities, following English and Spanish.
Tagalog is the most spoken language in nine cities, ranging from Anchorage, Alaska, where half of the local Asian community is Filipino, to Las Vegas, Nevada, home to one of the largest Filipino-American communities in the country.
Chinese dominates in California and Washington, while Japanese ranks as the third most common language in Hawaii.
In the late 1800s, people worldwide chose to emigrate to the United States, leaving their homes due to crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes, and famine. Many also saw the U.S. as a land of economic opportunity.
More than 70% of all immigrants entered through New York City, which came to be known as the “Golden Door.”
As a result, the city today has an eclectic mix of languages.
While numerous languages across America thrive, some face imminent extinction. These include rare regional dialects, like the Pawpaw French in Minnesota, and indigenous languages.
According to the National Congress of American Indians, all surviving Native American languages are severely endangered, with over 90% of them at risk of extinction by 2050.
Various initiatives, including leveraging technology, have been proposed to ensure the preservation of the diverse cultures and languages in the U.S.
Back in the 1970’s there was a radio station in Rosenburg TX that would broadcast the news at noon in English then in Czech at 12:30. Interesting to hear.
Surprised that no Indian language topped the list in Oklahoma. For all the Indian nation license plates here you’d think more would retain speaking their ancestral tongue.
What utter Horsh!t..
Spanish is not even on the list.
They are now on the 4th iteration of attempting to codify a genuine patois...not gonna happen.
We lived in Petionville/Peguyville from 83-86 and travelled most of the country every month. My favorite trip was to the north (once we got through the open market nonsense on National 1 in Gonaives). Would return the same day making it a very long day. Quickly found that Hotel Beck was not only reasonable but a beautiful location and hotel with Kurt Beck as a wonderful host. Unsure as to the true story on why/how/when his parents found their way to Okap...
Said all that to say that in the Okap region the Kreol/Creole had significant German as well which was not true of the far NW region.
I’m with you on the NA.
It states: Spanish is the second most common language, spoken in 62% of non-English-speaking households. In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti and WordFinderX used Census data to uncover the most spoken languages (aside from English and Spanish)
I’ll bet the number of Italian and German Americans in WW 2 were against the huns and wops. Likely in the 99% range.
Haitian Creole. A lot of posters on the subways are in Haitian Creole, so I guess it counts as a language now.
I wonder why Tagalog replaces Japanese in Hawaii, and suspect that some people may have said they speak Japanese or Polish or Italian or French or German to honor a heritage and not because they actually speak it. That might also have been true of Portuguese, but a lot of Brazilians have come to the US in recent decades. Also, French on the Upper East Side of Manhattan? Real or just pretentiousness. How many of those Germans are Amish or Amish-adjacent Mennonites and such?
Yep which is why the upper Midwest was a strong center of anti war sentiment in WWI and the years leading up to WWII.
Nope - Mussolini was supported by many Italian immigrants in the 1920s and 1930s. I even shopped at an Italian deli back in the 1990s where the old man still had a pic of Il Duce.
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