From ‘Tudo bem?' to ‘Gracias,' a growing share of US residents speak a language other than English

Independent

2 days ago

Spanish may be the most spoken language at home behind English, except in three U.S. states, but the second most-popular, non-English languages used in each state show off the diversity of the United States in unexpected places, whether it's Korean in Alabama or Vietnamese in Kansas.
Almost 22% of U.S. residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, double the share from four decades ago, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, and it varied by state. In California, 44% of residents spoke a language other than English at home, while it was 2.5% in West Virginia.
The United States is a multilingual nation due to immigration, despite recent crackdowns by the Trump administration, said William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution.
'This is a big part of who we've been over a long period of time,' Frey said.
President Donald Trump earlier this year issued an executive order designating English as the official language in the U.S.
Spanish was spoken at home by 13.2% of speakers, and it was the top non-English language spoken at home in every state but Hawaii, Maine and Vermont. In Maine and Vermont, home to French Canadian communities, French was the most popular non-English language, and in Hawaii, it was Iloko, a Filipino language.
Here's a look at where languages are spoken in the United States.
Arabic
Outside of English and Spanish, Arabic was the most spoken language at home in Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. The Detroit, Michigan, area has more Arabic speakers than any other metro area.
Central Yup'ik
About 1 out of 7 Alaskans who speak a language other than English at home did so in Central Yup'ik, making the native language the second most common non-English language behind Spanish in Alaska.
Chinese
Chinese was the second-most common non-English language spoken at home in Delaware, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. If all Chinese dialects are combined, it would be the third most spoken language in California behind English and Spanish.
French
Although it was the dominant non-English language in Maine and Vermont, French was the second most-common non-English language in Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire and North Carolina.
German
German was the most spoken language behind English and Spanish in eight states — Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. In total, more than 871,000 people over age 5 spoke German at home in 2021, compared to 1.6 million in 1980.
Haitian
Florida had almost a half million Haitian speakers, making it the most common language behind English and Spanish. The Sunshine State has the nation's largest Haitian population.
Hmong
In Minnesota and Wisconsin, Hmong was the second-most spoken non-English language at home. Many Hmong people settled in the Upper Midwest states after fleeing Southeast Asia in the mid-1970s following the Vietnam War.
Korean
Korean was the most spoken language in Alabama and Virginia behind English and Spanish.
Lakota
In South Dakota, the Lakota dialect of the Sioux people was the most common language spoken behind English and Spanish.
Marshallese
The language of the Marshall Islands was the second-most spoken non-English language in Arkansas, where the community is concentrated in the northwest part of the state.
Navajo
Arizona and New Mexico had the most Navajo speakers in the United States. The Navajo Nation extends into Arizona and New Mexico, where the indigenous language was the second-most popular non-English speech in those two states.
Polish
Despite a nationwide decline in speakers, Polish was Illinois' second-most common non-English language behind Spanish, primarily due to the Chicago area having one of the nation's largest Polish communities.
Portuguese
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have some of the largest concentrations of Portuguese speakers in the U.S., making it the most spoken language in these states behind English and Spanish. It also is the second-most common non-English language in Utah, which is home to missionaries who served in Brazil and explains its popularity, according to the University of Utah.
Tagalog
The Filipino language was prevalent in California, Hawaii and Nevada, where it was the second-most popular non-English tongue.
Vietnamese
In Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas, Vietnamese was the most popular language behind English and Spanish, reflecting that people who speak different languages are no longer concentrated in big cities that serve as entry points for immigrants.
'People of different backgrounds are dispersed to different parts of the country,' Frey said.
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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.