United States language (USA/USA)

The United States of America (USA or USA) is a country made up of 50 states and its capital is Washington DC It belongs to North America and is the third most populous country in the world (327 million inhabitants) and the fourth most largest part of the world (9,833,520 km ²). Its human development index is very high (13th) and its official currency is the US dollar. And what language is spoken in the United States?

What language do they speak in the United States?

The United States does not have any official language at the federal level. However, English is official in 32 of the 50 US states and is spoken by 80% of the population, making it the de facto national language. The second most important language in the country is Spanish, which is spoken by 13% of the population.

The most common immigrant languages ​​are Tagalog (1,610,000), Vietnamese (1,400,000 speakers), Mandarin Chinese (1,370,000), Cantonese Chinese (1,290,000), French (1,250,000), Korean (1,120,000).), German (1,060,000), Arabic (924,000), Russian (879,000), Italian (709,000), Portuguese (693,000), Hindi (643,000), Italian (580,000), Polish (580,000), Haitian Creole (453,000), Japanese (449,000), Urdu (398,000), Persian (391,000), Gujarati (373,000), Greek (305,000) and Bengali (258,000).

The most learned foreign languages ​​in secondary school (12-15 years) are Spanish (72%), French (14%), German (4%), Latin (2%) and Japanese (1%). In institutes and universities (16 or more) it is Spanish (50%), French (12%), American Sign Language (8%), German (6%) and Japanese (5%).

There are still quite a few indigenous languages ​​in the United States, although they are barely spoken by 0.10% of the population (about 374,000). Most of the indigenous population is not bilingual, since only 19.22% of them speak English “very well”. Many of them continue to speak the language fluently on Indian reservations. The most notorious native language is Navajo, since it is spoken by 171,000 people. Other major indigenous languages ​​include Dakota (19,000), Yupik (19,000), Apache (14,000), Keres (13,000), Cherokee (12,000), and Choctaw (10,000).

The English language

English (English) is the most widely used language in the country, by 80% of its population. Despite not being official, it is the language in which all official documents in the United States are written. In addition, it is the country with the most English speakers in the world. It has a wide variety of dialects.

The use of English in the country is a legacy of British colonization. But it was not the first European language in the North American territories, since previously there were already speakers of Dutch, French, German and Swedish.

The Spanish language

Spanish is the second most common language (13% of its inhabitants), and it is widely taught in schools. After Mexico, it is the second country with the most Spanish speakers in the world, ahead of Colombia and Spain.

It is particularly popular in areas bordering Mexico, as well as in Florida, parts of California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. In addition, there are quite a few neighborhoods (such as Washington Heights in New York, or Little Havana in Miami) where entire blocks have only Spanish-language road signs and Spanish-speaking people.

Official languages ​​by State

Updated to 2019.

In New Mexico, Spanish has a special status since 1912. In Louisiana, French has a special status since 1968. Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of certain government documents, including court forms, in Spanish.

Hawaiian language

Hawaii has two official languages: English and Hawaiian, according to the 1978 constitution. However, the second is limited to some extent, since the Constitution states that: “Hawaiian shall be required for public acts and transactions only as provided by law.” In addition, the language hardly has any extension, since there are an estimated 26,000 speakers (0.02% of the Hawaiian population).

At home, 74.6% use only English, while 21% are bilingual with an Asian language, 2.6% with Spanish, 1.6% with some Indo-European language and 0.2 % speak another language.

Alaskan language

Alaska recognizes 20 native languages, in addition to English. Of these 20 languages, there is one already extinct (in 2008), Eyak. The 3 indigenous languages ​​with more than 1,000 speakers are Central Alaskan Yupik (10,000 speakers), Iñupiaq (3,000), and Siberian Yupik (1,050).

At home, 83.4% use only English, 3.5% speak Spanish, 2.2% some Indo-European language, 4.3% some Asian language and 5.3% other languages.

Official languages ​​of other territories

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