Many of us grew up to the notion of the American dream.
A land of milk and honey that provides opportunities to all irrespective of your background.
With people internalizing that narrative, it is no surprise that the United States now has more immigrants than any other nation on earth.
Common knowledge dictates that an increase in immigration would corresponding lead to ethnic and racial diversity, but to paint a clearer picture, data shows just how much the Caucasian share of the U.S total population has declined in the last twenty years.
How this change in demographic has affected the diversity and subsequently the languages spoken in the U.S would be the focus of this blog post.
What are the languages spoken in the United States?
Data from the U.S census bureau puts the total number of languages spoken in the U.S as of 2015 to be around 350. Although these numbers are considered plenty, the United States does not make the top-5 most linguistically diverse countries of the world. Also, a bulk (150) of these languages have native North-American origins with only about 350,000 speakers.
While it would be quite absurd to cover all the languages spoken in the U.S in this post, we can narrow them down to some of the most spoken. Therefore, we have;
- English
English language, with over 254 million native speakers, is the most spoken language in the U.S by a large margin. But contrary to popular belief, it is not the official language (at least not at the federal level). At the state level, more than 25 states legally approve English as their official language.
Even at the federal level, English is sort of the de-facto official language, as everything from government documents to business contracts is designated in the language.
- Spanish
Next in line after English is Spanish, with over 43 million native speakers.
Spanish origins in the United States can be traced back to the settling of colonizers in areas that are today known as Florida, Texas, New Mexico and many others. But the recent influx of migrants from Central America is heavily responsible for the growing number of native Spanish speakers.
Today, New York, California and Florida account for the bulk of the Spanish speaking population.
- Chinese
Mandarin and other variants of Chinese account for approximately 2.9 million native speakers making it the 3rd most spoken language in the U.S. Unlike the first two languages (English and Spanish) with origins due to the presence of colonies, the Chinese language and its variants presence in the U.S came about due to the mass Chinese immigration of the 1850s as the California gold rush traction grew. The recent migration of skilled Chinese has almost doubled the number of native speaking population.
- Tagalog
The Tagalog speaking communities in the U.S adds a decent amount to the total number of foreign-language speakers, with its 1.9 million native speakers. The indigenous speakers of Tagalog who moved from the Philippines largely settled in California, while a considerable number settled in New York and Hawaii. Recent Filipino migration due to better living opportunities has led to a considerable surge in the total number of native Tagalog speakers.
- Vietnamese
The language, which is indigenous to the people of Vietnam, has about 1.4 million native speakers spread across the U.S, with major concentrations in California and Texas. The influx of Vietnamese migrants after the war in Vietnam led to the formation of communities in these regions.
- French
The last language to make our list with 1.3 million native speakers has its origins that go back to the 17th century when French settlers colonized the Louisiana territory. The influence of the language on English is still in effect today with certain words, but the presence of French in other variants also exists like; Louisiana French, New England French, Missouri French, etc.
These six languages are just a tip when it comes to the languages spoken in the U.S, but other notable languages include;
- Korean with approximately 1 million speakers
- German with close to 1 million speakers
- Arabic with over 900,000 speakers
- Russian with 825,000 speakers
The U.S ethnic and linguistic diversity is part of what makes the nation unique. And while the composition of its ethnicities continues to change, it is crucial for business owners to cater to diversity in order to tap into the potentials of the minorities.
A good way to start is by overcoming language barriers through utilizing translation and interpretation services. You can also go one step further by localizing your products either through website localization services or other means.
Translationsinlondon provides robust solutions to all your translation and localization needs. With an offering that involves standard practices and a host of qualified professionals, your business is a step closer to being adapted for your diverse customers.