View source for Languages of the United States

{{short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Languages of
|country = the United States
|image = Languages cp-02.svg
|official = English{{efn|name=EO14224|Per [[Executive Order 14224]]}}<ref name="EOWP">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/03/01/trump-english-official-language-explainer/ |title=A Trump order made English the official language of the U.S. What does that mean? |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |author1=Vivian Ho |author2=Rachel Pannett |date=March 1, 2025}}</ref><ref name="EONYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/us/politics/trump-order-english-official-language.html |author=Luke Broadwater |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 1, 2025 |title=Trump Signs Order to Designate English as Official Language of the U.S.}}</ref>
|national = English <br> 247,695,110 speakers at home (2024)<ref name="Explore Census Data">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1601?q=language |title=S1601: Language Spoken at Home |author=U.S. Census Bureau |date=2025-09-14 |website=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2025-09-14}}</ref>
|main = {{nowrap|[[English language|English]] 77%,}} {{nowrap|[[Spanish language|Spanish]] 13.9%,}} {{nowrap|other Indo-European languages 4.1%,}} {{nowrap|[[Languages of Asia|Asian]] and [[Languages of Oceania|Pacific]] languages 3.7%,}} other languages 1.3% (updated 2024 survey by the Census Bureau)<ref name="Explore Census Data">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1601?q=language |title=S1601: Language Spoken at Home |author=U.S. Census Bureau |date=2025-09-14 |website=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2025-09-14}}</ref>
|regional = [[New Mexican Spanish]], [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]], [[Aleut language|Aleut]], [[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]], [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Central Alaskan Yup'ik]], [[Central Siberian Yupik language|Central Siberian Yupik]], [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]], [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]], [[Dena’ina language|Dena’ina]], [[Eyak language|Eyak]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], [[Gwich’in language|Gwich’in]], [[Haida language|Haida]], [[Hän language|Hän]], [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], [[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]], [[Inupiaq language|Inupiaq]], [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]], [[Samoan language|Samoan]], [[Tanacross language|Tanacross]], [[Tanana language|Tanana]], [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]], [[Tsimshian languages|Tsimshian]], [[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]], [[Upper Tanana language|Upper Tanana]], [[Gullah language|Gullah]], [[Virgin Islands Creole]], [[California English]], [[New England English]], [[New Jersey English]], [[Southern American English]], [[Texan English]], [[Louisiana French]], [[Texas German]], [[Puerto Rican Spanish]]
|minority = Spoken at home by more than 1 million people (2020 figures):<ref name="ACS2021" /><br />
*Spanish, 41,254,941
*Chinese, 3,404,634
*Tagalog, 1,715,436
*Vietnamese, 1,523,114
*Arabic, 1,390,937
*French, 1,175,318
*Korean, 1,073,462
*Russian, 1,044,892
|indigenous = [[Navajo language|Navajo]], [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]], [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]], [[Muscogee language|Muscogee]], [[Dakota language|Dakota]], [[Lakota language|Lakota]], [[Western Apache language|Western Apache]], [[Keres language|Keres]], [[Hopi language|Hopi]], [[Zuni language|Zuni]], [[Kiowa language|Kiowa]], [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]], [[O'odham language|O'odham]], [[Miwuk language|Miwuk]]<ref>Siebens, J & T Julian. ''Native North American Languages Spoken at Home in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2006–2010.'' United States Census Bureau. December 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Census Data Of USA|url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/acs/Table3A.xls|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=August 17, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020110936/http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/acs/Table3A.xls|archive-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref> {{hidden begin|title=Others}}
[[Abenaki language|Abenaki]], [[Achumawi language|Achumawi]], [[Acolapissa#Language|Acolapissa]], [[Adai language|Adai]], [[Afro-Seminole Creole]], [[Alabama language|Alabama]], [[Aleut language|Aleut]], [[Apalachee language|Apalachee]], [[Aranama language|Aranama]], [[Arapaho language|Arapaho]], [[Arikara language|Arikara]], [[Assiniboine language|Assiniboine]], [[Atakapa language|Atakapa]], [[Atsugewi language|Atsugewi]], [[Awaswas language|Awaswas]], [[Barbareño language|Barbareño]], [[Bay Miwok language|Bay Miwok]], [[Biloxi language|Biloxi]], [[Blackfoot language|Blackfoot]], [[Buena Vista Yokuts|Buena Vista]], [[Caddo language|Caddo]], [[Cahto language|Cahto]], [[Calusa language|Calusa]], [[Carolina Algonquian language|Carolina Algonquian]], [[Catawba language|Catawba]], [[Cayuga language|Cayuga]], [[Cayuse language|Cayuse]], [[Central Kalapuya language|Central Kalapuya]], [[Central Pomo language|Central Pomo]], [[Central Sierra Miwok]], [[Chalon language|Chalon]], [[Chemakum language|Chemakum]], [[Cheyenne language|Cheyenne]], [[Chickasaw language|Chickasaw]], [[Chico language|Chico]], [[Chimariko language|Chimariko]], [[Chinook Jargon]], [[Chippewa language|Chippewa]], [[Chitimacha language|Chitimacha]], [[Chiwere language|Chiwere]], [[Chochenyo language|Chochenyo]], [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]], [[Chukchansi dialect|Chukchansi]], [[Coast Miwok language|Coast Miwok]], [[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Coast Tsimshian]], [[Coahuilteco language|Coahuilteco]], [[Cocopah language|Cocopah]], [[Coeur d'Alene language|Coeur d'Alene]], [[Colorado River language|Colorado River]], [[Columbia-Moses language|Columbia-Moses]], [[Comanche language|Comanche]], [[Coree#Language|Coree]], [[Cotoname language|Cotoname]], [[Cowlitz language|Cowlitz]], [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Crow language|Crow]], [[Cruzeño language|Cruzeño]], [[Cupeño language|Cupeño]], [[Eastern Pomo language|Eastern Pomo]], [[Erie language|Erie]], [[Esselen language|Esselen]], [[Etchemin language|Etchemin]], [[Taíno language|Eyeri]], [[Fox language|Fox]], [[Garza language|Garza]], [[Gashowu Yokuts|Gashowu]], [[Gros Ventre language|Gros Ventre]], [[Gullah language|Gullah]], [[Halchidhoma language|Halchidhoma]], [[Halkomelem]], [[Hanis language|Hanis]], [[Havasupai language|Havasupai]], [[Havasupai–Hualapai language|Havasupai–Hualapai]], [[Hawaiian Pidgin]], [[Hidatsa language|Hidatsa]], [[Hitchiti#Language|Hitchiti]], [[Houma language|Houma]], [[Hupa language|Hupa]], [[Ipai language|Ipai]], [[Ivilyuat]], [[Jicarilla language|Jicarilla]], [[Kansa language|Kansa]], [[Karankawa language|Karankawa]], [[Karkin language|Karkin]], [[Karuk language|Karuk]], [[Kashaya language|Kashaya]], [[Kathlamet language|Kathlamet]], [[Kawaiisu language|Kawaiisu]], [[Kings River Yokuts|Kings River]], [[Kiowa language|Kiowa]], [[Kitanemuk language|Kitanemuk]], [[Kitsai language|Kitsai]], [[Klallam language|Klallam]], [[Klamath language|Klamath]], [[Klickitat language|Klickitat]], [[Koasati language|Koasati]], [[Konkow language|Konkow]], [[Konomihu language|Konomihu]], [[Kumeyaay language|Kumeyaay]], [[Kutenai language|Kutenai]], [[Lake Miwok language|Lake Miwok]], [[Lipan language|Lipan]], [[Louisiana Creole]], [[Lower Tanana language|Lower Tanana]], [[Luiseño language|Luiseño]], [[Lummi dialect|Lummi]], [[Lushootseed]], [[Mahican language|Mahican]], [[Maidu language|Maidu]], [[Makah language|Makah]], [[Malecite-Passamaquoddy language|Malecite-Passamaquoddy]], [[Mandan language|Mandan]], [[Maricopa language|Maricopa]], [[Massachusett language|Massachusett]], [[Mattole language|Mattole]], [[Medny Aleut language|Mednyj Aleut]], [[Menominee language|Menominee]], [[Mescalero-Chiricahua language|Mescalero-Chiricahua]], [[Miami-Illinois language|Miami-Illinois]], [[Mikasuki language|Mikasuki]], [[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmaq]], [[Miluk language|Miluk]], [[Mitchigamea language|Mitchigamea]], [[Mobilian Jargon]], [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]], [[Mohawk Dutch]], [[Mohegan-Pequot language|Mohegan-Pequot]], [[Mojave language|Mojave]], [[Molala language|Molala]], [[Moneton#Language|Moneton]], [[Mono language (California)|Mono]], [[Munsee language|Munsee]], [[Muscogee language|Muscogee]], [[Mutsun language|Mutsun]], [[Nanticoke language|Nanticoke]], [[Natchez language|Natchez]], [[Nawathinehena language|Nawathinehena]], [[Negerhollands]], [[Neutral Huron language|Neutral]], [[New River Shasta language|New River Shasta]], [[Nez Perce language|Nez Perce]], [[Nicoleño language|Nicoleño]], [[Nisenan language|Nisenan]], [[Thompson language|Nlaka'pamux]], [[Nomlaki language|Nomlaki]], [[Nooksack language|Nooksack]], [[Northeastern Pomo language|Northeastern Pomo]], [[Northern Kalapuya language|Northern Kalapuya]], [[Northern Paiute language|Northern Paiute]], [[Northern Pomo language|Northern Pomo]], [[Northern Sierra Miwok]], [[Nottoway language|Nottoway]], [[Obispeño language|Obispeño]], [[Ofo language|Ofo]], [[Okanagan language|Okanagan]], [[Okwanuchu language|Okwanuchu]], [[Omaha–Ponca language|Omaha–Ponca]], [[Oneida language|Oneida]], [[Onondaga language|Onondaga]], [[Osage language|Osage]], [[Ottawa dialect|Ottawa]], [[Palewyami language|Palewyami]], [[Pawnee language|Pawnee]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], [[Picuris language|Picuris]], [[Piscataway language|Piscataway]], [[Plains Apache language|Plains Apache]], [[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]], [[Plains Miwok language|Plains Miwok]] [[Potawatomi language|Potawatomi]], [[Powhatan language|Powhatan]], [[Purisimeño language|Purisimeño]], [[Qawiaraq language|Qawiaraq]], [[Quapaw language|Quapaw]], [[Quechan language|Quechan]], [[Quileute language|Quileute]], [[Quinault language|Quinault]], [[Quinipissa#Language|Quinipissa]], [[Quiripi language|Quiripi]], [[Ramaytush language|Ramaytush]], [[Rumsen language|Rumsen]], [[Saanich dialect|Saanich]], [[Sahaptin language|Sahaptin]], [[Salinan language|Salinan]], [[Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language|Salish-Spokane-Kalispel]], [[Scahentoarrhonon#Language|Scahentoarrhonon]], [[Seneca language|Seneca]], [[Serrano language|Serrano]], [[Shasta language|Shasta]], [[Shawnee language|Shawnee]], [[Shoshoni language|Shoshoni]], [[Sioux language|Sioux]], [[Siuslaw language|Siuslaw]], [[Solano language|Solano]], [[Southeastern Pomo language|Southeastern Pomo]], [[Southern Pomo language|Southern Pomo]], [[Southern Sierra Miwok]], [[Southern Tiwa language|Southern Tiwa]], [[Stoney language|Stoney]], [[Susquehannock language|Susquehannock]], [[Taensa language|Taensa]], [[Takelma language|Takelma]], [[Tamyen language|Tamyen]], [[Tangipahoa#Language|Tangipahoa]], [[Taos language|Taos]], [[Tataviam language|Tataviam]], [[Tawasa language|Tawasa]], [[Tequesta#Origins and language|Tequesta]], [[Tewa language|Tewa]],[[Tillamook language|Tillamook]], [[Timbisha language|Timbisha]], [[Timucua language|Timucua]], [[Tiipai language|Tiipai]], [[Tolowa language|Tolowa]], [[Tongva language|Tongva]], [[Tonkawa language|Tonkawa]], [[Tsetsaut language|Tsetsaut]], [[Tübatulabal language|Tübatulabal]], [[Tunica language|Tunica]], [[Tuscarora language|Tuscarora]], [[Tutelo language|Tutelo]], [[Tututni language|Tututni]], [[Twana language|Twana]], [[Umatilla language|Umatilla]], [[Unami language|Unami]], [[Upper Chinook language|Upper Chinook]], [[Ute dialect|Ute]], [[Ventureño language|Ventureño]], [[Virgin Islands Creole]], [[Wailaki language|Wailaki]], [[Wappo language|Wappo]], [[Washo language|Washo]], [[Wenrohronon#Language|Wenrohronon]], [[Whulshootseed dialect|Whulshootseed]], [[Wichita language|Wichita]], [[Winnebago language|Winnebago]], [[Wintu language|Wintu]], [[Wiyot language|Wiyot]], [[Woccon language|Woccon]], [[Wukchumni#Language|Wukchumni]], [[Wyandot language|Wyandot]], [[Yamasee#Language|Yamasee]], [[Yana language|Yana]], [[Yaqui language|Yaqui]], [[Yavapai language|Yavapai]], [[Yoncalla language|Yoncalla]], [[Yuchi language|Yuchi]], [[Yuki language|Yuki]], [[Yurok language|Yurok]]
{{hidden end}}
|sign = [[American Sign Language]],<br />[[Keresan Sign Language]],<br />[[Navajo Family Sign]],<br />[[Plains Indian Sign Language]],<br />[[Puerto Rican Sign Language]],<br />[[Samoan Sign Language]], <br /> [[Black American Sign Language]], <br />[[Hawaiʻi Sign Language]]
|vernacular = [[African American Vernacular English]]
|immigrant =
|keyboard = [[QWERTY]]<br />[[File:KB United States-NoAltGr.svg|250px]]
}}

The most commonly used language in the [[United States]] is English (specifically [[American English]]), which is the [[national language]] and ''[[de facto]]'' [[official language]]. While the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] has never passed a law to make English the country's official language, the federal government primarily uses English and a 2025 [[Executive Order 14224|executive order]] declared English official.<ref name="EOWP" /><ref name="EONYT" /> In addition, 32 U.S. states out of 50 and all five [[U.S. territories]] have laws that recognize English as an official language, with three states and most territories having adopted English plus one or more other official languages. Overall, 430 languages are spoken or [[Sign language|signed]] by the population, of which 177 are [[#Indigenous languages|indigenous to the U.S. or its territories]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Grimes|2000}}</ref> and accommodations for non-English-language speakers are sometimes made under various federal, state, and local laws.

The majority of the [[Demographics of the United States|U.S. population]] (77%) speaks only English at home as of 2024, according to the [[American Community Survey]] (ACS) of the [[U.S. Census Bureau]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1601?q=language |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> The second most common language by far is [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish]], spoken by 13.9% of the population,<ref name=":3" /> followed by [[Chinese language in the United States|Chinese]], spoken by around 1% of the population. Other languages spoken by over a million residents are Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Korean, and Russian.<ref name="ACS2021" /> Only 8.4% of U.S. residents report that they speak English less than "very well".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/acs/www/about/why-we-ask-each-question/language/ |title=Why we ask questions about ... languages spoken at home |website=American Community Survey of U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=September 22, 2025}}</ref>

Many residents of the [[Territories of the United States|U.S. unincorporated territories]] speak their own native languages or a local language, such as Spanish in Puerto Rico and English in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the course of U.S. history, many languages have been brought into what became the United States from [[Europe]], [[Africa]], [[Asia]], other parts of the [[Americas]], and [[Oceania]]. Some of these languages have developed into [[dialects]] and dialect families (examples include [[African-American English]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], and [[Gullah language|Gullah]]), [[Creole language|creole]] languages (such as [[Louisiana Creole]]), and [[pidgin]] languages. [[American Sign Language|American Sign Language (ASL)]] and [[Interlingua]], an [[international auxiliary language]], were created in the United States.

==Most common languages==
Based on annual data from the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau regularly publishes information on the most common [[Language Spoken at Home|languages spoken at home]]. It also reports on the English-speaking ability of people who speak a language other than English at home.<ref name="ACS2021">{{cite web |title=ACS B16001 |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=B16001:+LANGUAGE+SPOKEN+AT+HOME+BY+ABILITY+TO+SPEAK+ENGLISH+FOR+THE+POPULATION+5+YEARS+AND+OVER&g=0100000US&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B16001&moe=true |website=ACS B16001 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=26 December 2022}}</ref> In 2023, Spanish speakers made up about three-fifths of all speakers of languages other than English in the United States. In 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau published information on the number of speakers of some 350 languages as surveyed by the ACS from 2009 to 2013,<ref name="2015 census">{{Citation|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-185.html|title=Census Bureau Reports at Least 350 Languages Spoken in U.S. Homes|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=November 3, 2015|access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/04/at-least-350-languages-spoken-in-us-homes-new-report.html|title=At Least 350 Languages Spoken In US Homes: New Report|publisher=CNBC|date=November 4, 2015|access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref> but it does not regularly tabulate and report data for that many languages.

The most spoken languages at home in the United States in 2020:<ref name="ACS2021" />
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
# [[English language in the United States|English]] (only language spoken in the household) {{spaced ndash}} 245.69 million
# [[Spanish language in the United States |Spanish]]{{spaced ndash}} 42.03 million
# [[Chinese language in the United States |Chinese]] (including [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], [[Cantonese]], [[Hokkien]] and all other varieties){{spaced ndash}} 3.40 million
# [[Tagalog language in the United States |Tagalog]] (including [[Filipino language|Filipino]]){{spaced ndash}} 1.71 million
# [[Vietnamese language in the United States |Vietnamese]]{{spaced ndash}} 1.52 million
# [[Arabic language in the United States|Arabic]]{{spaced ndash}} 1.39 million
# [[French language in the United States |French]]{{spaced ndash}} 1.18 million
# [[Korean language in the United States |Korean]]{{spaced ndash}} 1.07 million
# [[Russian language in the United States |Russian]]{{spaced ndash}} 1.04 million
# [[Portuguese language in the United States |Portuguese]]{{spaced ndash}} 937,000
# [[Haitian Creole language |Haitian Creole]]{{spaced ndash}} 895,000
# [[Hindi]]{{spaced ndash}} 865,000
# [[German language in the United States |German]]{{spaced ndash}} 857,000
# [[Polish language in the United States |Polish]]{{spaced ndash}} 533,000
# [[Italian language in the United States |Italian]]{{spaced ndash}} 513,000
# [[Urdu]]{{spaced ndash}} 508,000
# [[Persian language in the United States |Persian]] (including Farsi, [[Dari]] and [[Tajik language|Tajik]]){{spaced ndash}} 472,000
# [[Telugu language in the United States |Telugu]]{{spaced ndash}} 460,000
# [[Japanese language|Japanese]]{{spaced ndash}} 455,000
# [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]{{spaced ndash}} 437,000
# [[Bengali language |Bengali]]{{spaced ndash}} 403,000
# [[Tamil language |Tamil]]{{spaced ndash}} 341,000
# [[Punjabi language |Punjabi]]{{spaced ndash}} 319,000
# [[Southwestern Tai languages|Thais]] (including [[Thai language|Central Thai]] and [[Lao language|Lao]]){{spaced ndash}} 284,000
# [[Serbo-Croatian]] (including [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Montenegrin language|Montenegrin]], and [[Serbian language|Serbian]]){{spaced ndash}} 266,000
# [[Armenian language|Armenian]]{{spaced ndash}} 256,000
# [[Greek language in the United States |Greek]]{{spaced ndash}} 253,000
# [[Hmong language in the United States |Hmong]]{{spaced ndash}} 240,000
# [[Hebrew]]{{spaced ndash}} 215,000
# [[Khmer language in the United States |Khmer]]{{spaced ndash}} 193,000
# [[Navajo language|Navajo]]{{spaced ndash}} 155,000
# [[Indo-European languages|other Indo-European languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 662,000
# [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], [[Twi language|Twi]], [[Igbo language|Igbo]] and [[Niger–Congo languages|other languages of West Africa]]{{spaced ndash}} 640,000
# [[Amharic language|Amharic]], [[Somali language|Somali]], and [[Afro-Asiatic languages|other Afro-Asiatic languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 596,000
# [[Dutch language in the United States |Dutch]], [[Afrikaans]], [[Frisian language|Frisian]], [[Luxembourgish]], [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Yiddish]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], [[Low German]], and [[West Germanic languages|other West Germanic languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 574,000
# [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]], [[Samoan language|Samoan]], [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], and [[Austronesian languages|other Austronesian languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 486,000
# [[Languages of Asia|Other languages of Asia]]{{spaced ndash}} 460,000
# [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], and [[Indo-Aryan languages|other Indic languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 448,000
# [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Slavic languages|other Slavic languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 385,000
# [[Swahili language|Swahili]] and other [[Languages of Africa|languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa]]{{spaced ndash}} 288,000
# [[Malayalam]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]], and [[Dravidian languages|other Dravidian languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 280,000
# [[Languages of North America|Other Native languages of North America]]{{spaced ndash}} 169,000
# [[List of language families|other and unspecified languages]]{{spaced ndash}} 327,000
{{div col end}}

The ACS is not a full census but an annual sample-based survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The language statistics are based on responses to a three-part question asked about all members of a target U.S. household who are at least five years old. The first part asks if they "speak a language other than English at home." If so, the head of the household or main respondent is asked to report which language each member speaks in the home, and how well each individual speaks English. It does not ask how well individuals speak any other language of the household. Thus, some respondents might have only limited speaking ability in those languages.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1515/ijsl-2018-0013|title = It's all about English: The interplay of monolingual ideologies, language policies and the U.S. Census Bureau's statistics on multilingualism|journal = International Journal of the Sociology of Language|issue = 252|pages = 21–43|year = 2018|last1 = Leeman|first1 = Jennifer|s2cid = 149994663}}</ref> In addition, it is difficult to make historical comparisons of the numbers of speakers because language questions used by the U.S. Census changed numerous times before 1980.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2307/2648061| jstor=2648061|title = A Century of U.S. Censuses and the Language Characteristics of Immigrants| journal=Demography| volume=36| issue=3| pages=387–397|year = 1999|last1 = Stevens|first1 = Gillian| pmid=10472502| s2cid=28315459| doi-access=free}}</ref>

The ACS does not tabulate the number of people who report the use of [[American Sign Language]] at home, so such data must come from other sources. While modern estimates indicate that American Sign Language was signed by as many as 500,000 Americans in 1972 (the last official survey of sign language), estimates as recently as 2011 were closer to 100,000. Various cultural factors, such as the passage of the [[Americans with Disabilities Act]], have resulted in far greater educational opportunities for [[hearing loss|hearing-impaired]] children, which could double or triple the number of current users of American Sign Language.

[[File:Population speaking English at home by PUMA.png|thumb|upright=2|<div style="text-align: center">Percentage of Americans aged 5+ speaking English at home in each Public Usage Microdata Area (PUMA) of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico according to the 2016–2021 five-year American Community Survey</div>]]

English is the most common language spoken in U.S. homes, with approximately 247 million speakers as well as numerous bilingual speakers. Spanish is spoken by approximately 42 million people.<ref name="Explore Census Data">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1601?q=language |title=S1601: Language Spoken at Home |author=U.S. Census Bureau |date=2025-09-14 |website=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2025-09-14}}</ref> The United States has the world's fourth largest Spanish-speaking population, outnumbered only by Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina; other estimates{{which|date=November 2019}} put the United States at over 50&nbsp;million, second only to Mexico. Throughout the [[Southwestern United States]] and [[Puerto Rico]], long-established Spanish-speaking communities coexist with large numbers of more recent [[Hispanophone]] immigrants. Although many new Latin American immigrants are less than fluent in English, nearly all second-generation [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] speak English fluently, while only about half still speak Spanish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/644/english-language-usage-hispanics|title=English Usage Among Hispanics in the United States|date=November 29, 2007|work=Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215031706/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/644/english-language-usage-hispanics|archive-date=December 15, 2012}}</ref>

According to the [[2000 U.S. census]], people of [[German American|German ancestry]] made up the largest single ethnic group in the United States, but [[German language]] was the fourth most-spoken language in the country.<ref name=ancestry2000>{{Citation|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U |title=Ancestry: 2000 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200210221135/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U |archive-date=February 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name=language2000>{{cite web
|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-29.pdf
|title=Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000
|date=October 2003
|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau
|access-date=February 22, 2008
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218000958/http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-29.pdf
|archive-date=February 18, 2008
}}</ref> [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and [[French language|French]] are still widely spoken among populations descending from immigrants from those countries in the early 20th century, but the use of these languages is dwindling as the older generations die. [[Russian language|Russian]] is also spoken by immigrant populations.

[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] have over one million speakers each in the United States, almost entirely within recent immigrant populations. Both languages, along with the [[varieties of Chinese]] (mostly [[Cantonese]], [[Taishanese]], and [[Standard Mandarin]]), [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and [[Korean language|Korean]], are now used in elections in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington.<ref name=AsianLang>{{cite web|url=http://www.eac.gov/News/press/eac-issues-glossaries-of-election-terms-in-five-asian-languages/ |title=EAC Issues Glossaries of Election Terms in Five Asian Languages Translations to Make Voting More Accessible to a Majority of Asian American Citizens |publisher=Election Assistance Commission |date=June 20, 2008 |access-date=January 18, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731133121/http://www.eac.gov/News/press/eac-issues-glossaries-of-election-terms-in-five-asian-languages/ |archive-date=July 31, 2008}}</ref>

Native American languages are spoken in smaller pockets of the country, but these populations are decreasing, and the languages are seldom widely used outside of reservations. Besides English, Spanish, French, German, [[Navajo language|Navajo]] and other Native American languages, all other languages are usually learned from immigrant ancestors that came after the time of independence or learned through some form of education.

[[American Sign Language]] is the most common [[sign language]] in the United States, although there are unrelated sign languages that have also been developed in the States and territories—mostly in the Pacific. No concrete numbers exist for signers but something upwards of 250,000 is common.
The [[List of most commonly learned foreign languages in the United States|most widely taught foreign languages]] in the United States, in terms of enrollment numbers from kindergarten through university [[undergraduate education]], are Spanish, French, and [[German language in the United States|German]]. Other commonly taught languages include [[Latin]], [[Japanese language education in the United States|Japanese]], [[American Sign Language]], [[Italian language in the United States|Italian]], and [[Chinese language in the United States|Chinese]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf|title=Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools|date=February 2011|publisher=American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)|access-date=October 17, 2015|archive-date=April 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408184754/https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mla.org/pdf/2013_enrollment_survey.pdf|title=Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2013|last1=Goldberg|first1=David|last2=Looney|first2=Dennis|last3=Lusin|first3=Natalia|date=February 2015|publisher=Modern Language Association|access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref>

==Official languages==
[[File:USA states english official language.svg|thumb|upright=1.35 |alt=Map of United States Official Language Status By State|Map of U.S. official language status by state.
{{Legend|#000081|English declared the official language}}
{{Legend|#8181ff|Multiple official languages, including English (Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota), or languages with special status (New Mexico)}}
{{Legend|#d4d4d4|No official language specified.}}]]

English is typically used by the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] and is considered the [[national language]]. In 2025, [[Donald Trump]] issued [[Executive Order 14224]], declaring English the official language of the United States, and [[List of federal agencies in the United States|federal agencies]] recognize English as official under the order.<ref name="EOWP" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Press |first=Associated |date=2025-03-02 |title=Trump signs executive order designating English as official language of US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/02/trump-signs-executive-order-designating-english-as-official-language-of-us |access-date=2025-03-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> However, the U.S. has never had an official language ''[[de jure]]'', as [[United States Congress|Congress]] has never passed legislation to designate one at the federal level.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/20/us/english-us-official-language-trnd/index.html|title=FYI: English isn't the official language of the United States|date=May 20, 2018 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Faingold |first=Eduardo D. |date=2018 |title=Language Rights and the Law in the United States and Its Territories |publisher=Lexington Books |page=8 |quote=The United States has never had an official language and attempts to declare English its official language have been unsuccessful in the U.S. Congress.}}</ref>{{efn|The most recent attempt to do so, the [[Inhofe Amendment]] (2006), would have declared English the "national language"; it passed overwhelmingly in the [[U.S. Senate]] but failed to win enough votes in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] to become federal law.}} 

Outside of Puerto Rico, English is the primary language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements. Nonetheless, laws require some documents, such as [[ballots]], to be printed in both English and one or more other languages if there are large numbers of non-English speakers in an area. Proceedings of the [[United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico]] are required by federal law to be in English,<ref>{{USCode|48|864}}</ref> despite the predominantly Spanish-speaking population and the status of Spanish as an official language of the territorial government.

Thirty-two of the 50 states have adopted legislation granting official or co-official status to English, in some cases as part of what has been called the [[English-only movement]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.us-english.org/view/1034 |title=U.S. English Efforts Lead West Virginia to Become 32nd State to Recognize English as Official Language |publisher=us-english.org |url-status=dead |access-date=13 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401151700/http://us-english.org/view/1034 |archive-date=1 April 2016}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.usenglish.org/us-states-official-english-laws/ Official English]". ''U.S. English'', 2022.</ref> Typically only "English" is specified, not a particular variety like American English. (From 1923 to 1969, the state of Illinois recognized its official language as "American".)<ref>{{cite news |last=Crews |first=Haibert O. |date=January 23, 1923 |title=Talk American, Not English |page=10 |work=[[Champaign-Urbana Courier]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74230858/talk-american-not-english/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=March 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Davis |first=Robert |date=September 24, 1969 |title=News Briefs: Its Legal—We Speak English |at=section 1, page 3 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74217269/news-briefs-its-legal-we-speak-english/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=March 23, 2021}}</ref> English is typically used in states that do not have an official language.

[[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and English are the official languages of Hawaii, reflecting the [[Hawaiian Kingdom]]'s history of trade and diplomacy with Britain in the decades prior to its [[Territory of Hawaii|annexation by the United States]] in 1898. Alaska has made some [[Alaska Native languages|20 native languages]] official, along with English;<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/24/alaskas-indigenous-languages-official "Alaska's indigenous languages attain official status"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212093511/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/24/alaskas-indigenous-languages-official |date=February 12, 2017}}, Reuters.com, October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20216&session=28|title=Bill History/Action for 28th Legislature HB 216|website=The Alaska State Legislature|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204183710/http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20216&session=28|archive-date=February 4, 2017|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> for example, Alaska provides voting information in [[Iñupiaq language|Iñupiaq]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Central Yup'ik]], [[Gwich'in language|Gwich'in]], [[Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]], and [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]] among others.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120081808/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official |date=January 20, 2015}} April 21, 2014; Bill Chappell; NPR.org</ref> On July 1, 2019, a law went into effect making [[Lakota language|Lakota]], [[Dakota language|Dakota]], and [[Nakota language|Nakota]]&nbsp;the official indigenous languages of South Dakota.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/22/south-dakota-recognizes-official-indigenous-language-governor-noem/3245113002/ |title=South Dakota recognizes official indigenous language|date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> 

French is a ''de facto'', but unofficial, language in Maine and Louisiana, and since 1848 [[New Mexico]] law has granted Spanish speakers in the state the right to receive many services in Spanish. The government of Louisiana offers services and most documents in both English and French, and New Mexico does so in English and Spanish.

English is at least one of the official languages in all five permanently inhabited [[U.S. territories]]. In [[Puerto Rico]], both English and Spanish are official, although Spanish has been declared the principal official language. The school system and the government operate almost entirely in Spanish, but federal law requires the [[United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico]] to use English,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/48/864 |title=48 U.S. Code § 864 – Appeals, certiorari, removal of causes, etc.; use of English language &#124; LII / Legal Information Institute |publisher=Law.cornell.edu |access-date=2015-06-01}}</ref> like the rest of the federal court system.

[[Guam]] recognizes English and [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]]. In the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], English is the only official language. In [[American Samoa]], both English and [[Samoan language|Samoan]] are officially recognized; English is common but Samoan is also seen in some official communications. In the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], English, [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]], and [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] are official.<ref>{{Citation |title=Northern Mariana Islands |date=2024-09-27 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/northern-mariana-islands/#people-and-society |access-date=2024-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007094221/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/northern-mariana-islands/#people-and-society |archive-date=2024-10-07 |url-status=live |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

In New Mexico, although the state constitution does not specify an official language, laws are published in English and Spanish, and government materials and services are legally required (by Act) to be made accessible to speakers of both languages as well as [[Navajo language|Navajo]] and various [[Puebloan peoples|Pueblo]] languages. New Mexico also has [[New Mexican Spanish|its own dialect of Spanish]], which differs from Spanish spoken in [[Latin America]].

[[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]], [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]], and [[Sioux language|Sioux]] are among many other [[Native American languages]] which are official or co-official on many U.S. [[Indian reservation]]s and [[pueblo]]s. In Oklahoma before statehood in 1907, territory officials debated whether or not to have [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]], [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]], and [[Creek language|Muscogee]] languages as co-official, but the idea never gained ground. [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]] is officially recognized by the [[Cherokee Nation]] within the Cherokee tribal jurisdiction area in eastern Oklahoma.<ref>{{cite book|author=James W. Parins|title=Literacy and Intellectual Life in the Cherokee Nation, 1820–1906|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dab8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA248|date=November 4, 2013|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-5122-9|page=248}}</ref>

After [[New Amsterdam]] (formerly a [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch colony]]) was transferred to English administration (becoming the [[Province of New York]]) in the late 17th century, English supplanted [[Dutch language|Dutch]] as the official language. However, "Dutch remained the primary language for many civil and ecclesiastical functions and most private affairs for the next century."<ref>David W. Voorhees, "Dutch Political Identity in English New York" in ''Four Centuries of Dutch-American Relations: 1609-2009'' (eds. Hans Krabbendam, Cornelis A. van Minnen & Giles Scott-Smith: [[State University of New York Press]], 2009), pages 132-33.</ref> The [[Jersey Dutch]] dialect is now extinct.

California has agreed to allow the publication of state documents in other languages to represent minority groups and immigrant communities. Languages such as [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], and [[Thai language|Thai]] appear in official state documents, and the Department of Motor Vehicles publishes in nine languages.<ref>California Department of Motor Vehicles Website (actual website blocked by Wikipedia)</ref>

The issue of [[multilingualism]] also applies in the states of Arizona and Texas. While the constitution of Texas has no official language policy, Arizona passed a proposition [[United States general elections, 2006|in 2006]] declaring English as the official language.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/ballot.measures/
|title=America Votes 2006: Key Ballot Issues
|publisher=CNN
|access-date=February 22, 2008
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209132213/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/ballot.measures/
|archive-date=February 9, 2008
}}</ref> Nonetheless, Arizona law requires the distribution of voting ballots in Spanish, as well as indigenous languages such as [[Navajo language|Navajo]], [[O'odham language|O'odham]] and [[Hopi language|Hopi]], in counties where they are spoken.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/votingrights/vec/az_voter_empowerment.pdf|title= Arizona Voter Empowerment Card, 2010 Elections|publisher=[[American Civil Liberties Union]]|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>

A popular [[urban legend]] called the [[Muhlenberg legend]] claims that German was almost made an official language of the United States but lost by one vote. In reality, it was a request by a group of German immigrants to have an official translation of laws into German. House speaker [[Frederick Muhlenberg]] has since become associated with the legend.<ref name="1983art1">Heath, Shirley Brice & Frederick Mandabach. ''Language Status Decisions and the Law in the United States'', in Cobarrubias, Juan & Joshua A. Fishman, eds., [https://books.google.com/books?id=x9KoAkzfVqIC&pg=PA94 Progress in Language Planning], page 94 (1983)</ref><ref name="sick">[[Bastian Sick|Sick, Bastian]] (May 19, 2004). [http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/zwiebelfisch/0,1518,306711,00.html ''German as the official language of the USA?''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050913071522/http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/zwiebelfisch/0%2C1518%2C306711%2C00.html |date=September 13, 2005}}, ''[[Spiegel Online]]'' (in English)</ref><ref name="snopesgerman">Mikkelson, David (2008). [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081216214909/http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp ''German Almost Became Official Language''], ''[[Snopes]]''</ref>

{{Official languages of U.S. states and territories}}

===Education===
[[Bilingual education by country or region#United States|Bilingual education in the United States]], often a different concept from [[language immersion]] or [[Dual language|dual-language school]] programs, is an area of political controversy. In standard bilingual classes, the non-English language (typically Spanish or Chinese) is utilized over a period of time when students' English-language proficiency is lacking. Otherwise the [[medium of instruction]] at almost all U.S. schools, at all levels, is English. The exceptions are in language classes such as French or German, or in general education in the territory of [[Puerto Rico]], where Spanish is standard. English is the language of instruction in the territory of [[American Samoa]], despite most students speaking [[Samoan language|Samoan]] as their native language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.doe.as/files/user/2/file/SB%20Elementary%20Math%20Standards.pdf|title=American Samoa Department of Education - Mathematics Content Standards|access-date=September 9, 2021|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103012910/https://www.doe.as/files/user/2/file/SB%20Elementary%20Math%20Standards.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are also hundreds of [[Language immersion#United States|language immersion]] and dual-language schools across the United States that teach in a variety of languages, including Spanish, [[Hawaiian language#Hawaiian in schools|Hawaiian]], [[Chamorro language#Revitalization efforts|Chamorro]], [[French language|French]], and [[Mandarin Chinese]] (for example, the [[Mandarin Immersion Magnet School]] in [[Houston]], Texas). However, English is a mandatory class in all these schools.

==Historic languages==
{{bar box
|title= Main languages spoken at home in the United States<ref name="CIAPAPUANEWGUINEA">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/|title=North America :: UNITED STATES|date=October 20, 2022 |publisher=CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Language
|right1=percent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[English language|English]]|Blue|77.5}}
{{bar percent|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]|Orange|13.7}}
{{bar percent|Other [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]|Yellow|3.9}}
{{bar percent|[[Asian language|Asian]] and [[Oceanic languages|Pacific island]]|Green|3.6}}
{{bar percent|Other |Red|1.3}}
}}

[[File:Seattle trash lese rac basura 200511.jpg|thumb|A [[trash can]] in [[Seattle]] labeled in four languages: [[English language|English]], [[Chinese characters|Chinese]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (written as "ràc" instead of "rác"), and [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. ''Basura'' also exists as a [[loanword]] in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], spoken in the city.]]
Some of the first European languages to be spoken in the U.S. were English, [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[French language|French]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]].

From the mid-19th century, the nation had large numbers of immigrants who spoke little or no English. The laws, constitutions, and legislative proceedings of some states and territories appeared in the languages of politically important immigrant groups. There have been bilingual schools and local newspapers in such languages as [[German language|German]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Yiddish]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cantonese]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and others. These flourished despite English-only laws in some jurisdictions prohibiting church services, telephone conversations, and even conversations in the street or on railway platforms in a language other than English, up until the first of these laws was ruled unconstitutional in 1923 (''[[Meyer v. Nebraska]]'').

Typically, immigrant languages tend to be lost through assimilation within two or three generations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Portes |first1=Alejandro |last2=Schauffler |first2=Richard |date=1994 |title=Language and the Second Generation: Bilingualism Yesterday and Today |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/019791839402800402 |journal=International Migration Review |language=en |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=640–661 |doi=10.1177/019791839402800402 |issn=0197-9183|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Several states and territories have native populations who spoke their own language prior to joining the United States, and have maintained their original languages for centuries. The languages include [[Alaskan Russian]], [[Louisiana French]], [[New Mexican Spanish]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], and [[Puerto Rican Spanish]].

===English (245.69 million speakers)===
[[File:English USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Distribution of English-speaking households in the United States in 2000.]]
{{Main|American English|List of dialects of English#United States}}

[[English language|English]] was inherited from [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]], and it is spoken by the majority of the population. English has become increasingly common; when the United States was founded, just 40% of Americans spoke English.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shell |first=Marc |date=2001 |title=Language Wars |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/50577/pdf |journal=CR: The New Centennial Review |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=6 |doi=10.1353/ncr.2003.0059 |s2cid=201784628 |issn=1539-6630|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=October 2022}}. In 2002, 87% of Americans spoke English as their first language.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lake |first=Nell |date=2002-03-01 |title=Language Wars |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2002/03/language-wars.html |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=Harvard Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tamir|first=Yael (Yuli)|date=2019-05-11|title=Not So Civic: Is There a Difference Between Ethnic and Civic Nationalism?|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|language=en|volume=22|issue=1|pages=419–434|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-022018-024059|issn=1094-2939|doi-access=free}}</ref> It serves as the [[de facto]] national language, the language in which government business is carried out. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 80% spoke only English at home and all but approximately 13,600,000 U.S. residents age 5 and over speak English "well" or "very well".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf|title=Detailed Languages Spoken at Home by English-Speaking Ability for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2011|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=October 20, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109200819/http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf|archive-date=November 9, 2015}}</ref>

[[American English]] is different from [[British English]] in terms of spelling (one example being the dropped "u" in words such as color/colour), grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and slang usage. The differences are not usually a barrier to effective communication between an [[American English]] and a British English speaker.

Some states, like California, have amended their constitutions to make English the only official language, but in practice, this only means that official government documents must ''at least'' be in English, and ''does not'' mean that they should be exclusively available only in English. For example, the standard California Class C [[driver's license]] examination is available in 32 different languages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm|title=Driver License and Identification Card Information|publisher=Dmv.ca.gov|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930113026/http://dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm|archive-date=September 30, 2014}}</ref>

===Spanish (42.03 million speakers)===
[[File:Spanish USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Spanish language distribution in the United States.]]
{{Main|Spanish language in the United States}}
[[Spanish language|Spanish]] was also inherited from colonization and is sanctioned as official in the commonwealth of [[Puerto Rico]], where it is the general language of instruction in schools and universities. In the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all territories except Puerto Rico, Spanish is taught as a foreign or [[second language]]. It is spoken at home in areas with large Hispanic populations: the [[Southwestern United States]] along the border with Mexico, as well as in Florida, parts of California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. In Hispanic communities across the country, bilingual signs in both Spanish and English may be quite common. Furthermore, numerous neighborhoods exist (such as [[Washington Heights, Manhattan|Washington Heights]] in New York City or [[Little Havana]] in Miami) in which entire city blocks will have only Spanish-language signs and Spanish-speaking people.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;"
|+ Spanish speakers in the United States
|-
!Year
!Number of Spanish speakers
!Percent of<br />U.S. population
|-
| 1980
| style="text-align:right;" | 11 million
| style="text-align:right;" | 5%
|- 
| 1990
| style="text-align:right;" | 17.3 million
| style="text-align:right;" | 7%
|- 
| 2000
| style="text-align:right;" | 28.1 million
| style="text-align:right;" | 10%
|- 
| 2010
| style="text-align:right;" | 37 million
| style="text-align:right;" | 13%
|- 
| 2020
| style="text-align:right;" | 41.3 million
| style="text-align:right;" | 13.7%
|- 
| 2023
| style="text-align:right;" | 42.0 million
| style="text-align:right;" | 13.4%
|-
| colspan=3 | Sources:<ref name=language2000/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/05/what-is-the-future-of-spanish-in-the-united-states/|title=What is the future of Spanish in the United States?|date=September 5, 2013|work=Pew Research Center|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118052039/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/05/what-is-the-future-of-spanish-in-the-united-states/|archive-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/Castro1.htm|title=The Future of Spanish in the United States|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118005805/http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/Castro1.htm |archive-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_S1601&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212214642/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_S1601&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2020|title=American FactFinder - Results|author=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS)|publisher=Factfinder2.census.gov|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Explore Census Data"/>
|}

Younger generations of non-Hispanics in the United States choose to study Spanish as a foreign or second language in far greater numbers than other second-language options. This might be due in part to the growing Hispanic population and the increasing popularity of Latin American movies and music performed in the Spanish language. A 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the [[United States Census Bureau]], showed that Spanish was spoken at home by over 35 million people aged 5 or older,<ref name="2009 survey">{{Citation |url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/ancestry_language_spoken_at_home.html|title=Table 53. Languages Spoken At Home by Language: 2009|work=The 2012 Statistical Abstract|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 27, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225193634/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/ancestry_language_spoken_at_home.html|archive-date=December 25, 2007}}</ref> making the United States the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking community, outnumbered only by Mexico, Colombia, Spain, and Argentina.<ref>Instituto Cervantes (Enciclopedia del español en Estados Unidos)</ref><ref name="Más 'speak spanish' que en España">{{cite web|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/speak/spanish/Espana/elpepucul/20081006elpepicul_1/Tes|title=Más 'speak spanish' que en España|access-date=October 6, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520111353/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/speak/spanish/Espana/elpepucul/20081006elpepicul_1/Tes|archive-date=May 20, 2011}}</ref> Since then, the number of persons reported on the ACS to speak Spanish at home has increased (see table).

====New Mexican Spanish====
{{main|New Mexican Spanish}}
[[File:New Mexico in United States.svg|thumb|The State of New Mexico.]]
In [[northern New Mexico]] and southern Colorado, Spanish speakers have been isolated for centuries in the southern [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], and developed a distinct dialect of Spanish spoken nowhere else: [[New Mexican Spanish]]. The dialect features a mix of [[Castilian language|Castilian]], [[Galician language|Galician]] and, more recently, [[Mexican Spanish]], as well as [[Pueblo]] loan words. New Mexican Spanish also contains a large proportion of English loan words, particularly for technological words (e.g. ''bos'', ''troca'', and ''telefón'').

[[Nuevomexicanos|Speakers of New Mexican Spanish]] are mainly descendants of Spanish colonists who arrived in New Mexico in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. During this time, contact with the rest of Spanish America was limited, and New Mexican Spanish developed on its own course. In the meantime, Spanish colonists coexisted with and intermarried with Puebloan peoples and Navajos. After the Mexican–American War, New Mexico and all its inhabitants came under the governance of the English-speaking United States, and for the next hundred years, English-speakers increased in number.

====Puerto Rican Spanish====
{{main|Puerto Rican Spanish}}
[[File:Map of USA PR.svg|thumb|The [[Commonwealth of Puerto Rico]].]]
Puerto Rican Spanish is the main language and dialect of the people of [[Puerto Rico]], as well as many people descended from Puerto Ricans elsewhere throughout the United States.

====Spanglish====
'''[[Spanglish]]''' is a [[code-switching]] variant of Spanish and English and is spoken in areas with large bilingual populations of Spanish and English speakers, such as along the [[Mexico–United States border]] (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), Florida, and New York City.

===Chinese (3.4 million speakers)===
{{Main|Chinese language in the United States}}
The population of Chinese speakers in the United States was increasing rapidly in the 20th century because the number of Chinese immigrants has increased at a rate of more than 50% since 1940.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/languagesinameri00dick|url-access=registration|quote=chinese.|title=Languages in America: A Pluralist View|last=Dicker|first=Susan J.|date=January 1, 2003|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=9781853596513|language=en}}</ref> Some 2.8 million Americans speak some [[Varieties of Chinese|variety of Chinese]], which combined are counted by the federal census as the third most-spoken language in the country. Until the late 20th century, [[Yue dialects]], including [[Cantonese]] and [[Taishanese]], were the most common dialects among immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, especially in California. Since the opening of the [[China|People's Republic of China]], [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], the official language in the PRC and [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] (Taiwan), has become increasingly prevalent.<ref name="Lai">{{Citation | last = Lai | first = H. Mark | title = Becoming Chinese American or Taiwanese American: A History of Communities and Institutions | publisher = AltaMira Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-7591-0458-7}}</ref> Many Americans of all ethnic backgrounds are also learning Mandarin and, to a far lesser extent, Cantonese.<ref name="Lai"/>

In New York City in 2002, Mandarin was spoken as a native language among only 10% of Chinese speakers but was predicted to replace Cantonese as the [[lingua franca]] among Chinese speakers.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = García | first1 = Ofelia | last2 = Fishman |first2 = Joshua A. | title = The Multilingual Apple: Languages in New York City | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-3-11-017281-2}}</ref>

[[Chinese-Americans in the California Gold Rush]] and their descendants spoke a variety of the [[Cantonese language]] influenced by American English and American societal concepts foreign to Cantonese speakers in Modern China, either through direct English translations such as "Alpine" borrowed from ([[Alpine County, California]]), or neologisms such as "Yellow Eagle" ([[Dollar coin (United States)|Gold dollar]]), "Emancipated Woman" (Feminist), and "Telephone". It also maintains older [[Qing Dynasty]] Cantonese vocabulary that has fallen out of use in Cantonese spoken in Modern China.<ref name="chinesehistoricalsociety">{{cite book |title=Chinese America: History and Perspectives 1988|author=Chinese Historical Society|year=1988|publisher=Chinese Historical Society|location=United States of America|pages=115}}</ref>

===French (1.18 million speakers; 2.07 million including Haitian Creole)===
{{Main|French language in the United States}}
[[File:French USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|French language distribution in the United States.]]
[[French language|French]] is the seventh most spoken language in the United States according to the 2020 ACS. It is the fourth most common if [[Haitian Creole]] (a French-based dialect that is not mutually intelligible with standard French) is combined and counted as French. The ACS lists Haitian Creole separately from French, which encompasses standard French, Louisiana Creole, and Louisiana Cajun varieties. In the United States, French is spoken mainly by the [[Louisiana Creole people|Louisiana Creole]], native [[France|French]], [[Cajuns|Cajun]], and [[French Canadians|French-Canadian]] populations, along with more recent immigrants from Haiti. It is widely spoken in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and in Louisiana, with notable Francophone enclaves in [[St. Clair County, Michigan]], many rural areas of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the [[North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|northern San Francisco Bay area]].{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Because of its legacy in Louisiana, that state is served by the [[Council for the Development of French in Louisiana]] (CODOFIL), the only state agency in the United States whose mission is to serve a linguistic population. In October 2018, Louisiana became the first U.S. state to join the [[Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hasselle |first=Della |date=October 13, 2018 |title=Louisiana Joins International Organization of French-speaking Governments |language=en |work=NOLA.com |url=https://www.nola.com/news/article_302082ef-9b0e-59de-8583-4e320c5c792a.html}}</ref>

Three varieties of French developed within what is now the United States in colonial times including [[Louisiana French]], [[Missouri French]], and [[New England French]] (essentially a variant of [[Canadian French]]).<ref>{{cite book|title= Status and Function of Languages and Language Varieties|last= Ammon|first= Ulrich|author2= International Sociological Association|year= 1989|publisher= Walter de Gruyter|isbn= 978-0-89925-356-5|pages= 306–308|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=geh261xgI8sC|access-date=April 23, 2012|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121220231510/http://books.google.com/books?id=geh261xgI8sC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0 |archive-date= December 20, 2012}}</ref> French is the second-most-spoken language in the states of Louisiana and Maine. The largest French-speaking communities in the United States reside in Northeast Maine; [[Hollywood, Florida|Hollywood]] and Miami, Florida; New York City;{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} certain areas of rural Louisiana; and small minorities in Vermont and New Hampshire. Many of the New England communities are connected to the dialect found across the border in Quebec or New Brunswick. More than 13 million Americans possess primary French heritage, but only 2 million speak French, or any regional creoles and variations language at home. The largest concentration of French speakers in the country is in Louisiana.

====Louisiana French====
{{further|Louisiana French|Louisiana Creole}}
[[File:Cajun USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Cajun language distribution in the United States.]]
Louisiana French ({{langx|frc|français de la Louisiane}}; {{langx|lou|françé la lwizyàn}}) is an umbrella term for the dialects and [[varieties of French|varieties of the French language]] spoken traditionally in colonial [[Lower Louisiana]]. As of today Louisiana French is primarily used in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern [[Parish (administrative division)|parishes]].

French is spoken across ethnic and racial lines by [[Louisiana French people]] who may identify as [[Cajuns]] or [[Louisiana Creole people|Creoles]] as well as [[Chitimacha]], [[Houma people|Houma]], [[Biloxi people|Biloxi]], [[Tunica people|Tunica]], [[Choctaw people|Choctaw]], [[Acadian]]s, and [[Métis|French Indian]] among others.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities |last=Valdman |first=Albert |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |year=2009 |isbn=978-1604734034}}</ref><ref>[http://houmatoday.com/article/20071209/NEWS/712090329 ''Three Local Tribes Await Federal Decision''], December 8, 2007, ''Houma Today.''</ref> For these reasons, as well as the relatively small influence [[Acadian French]] has had on the region, the label Louisiana French or Louisiana Regional French ({{langx|fr|français régional louisianais}}) is generally regarded as more accurate and inclusive than "Cajun French" and is the preferred term by [[Linguistics|linguists]] and [[Anthropology|anthropologists]].<ref name="Neumann-Holzschuh 2014">{{Cite journal |last=Neumann-Holzschuh |first=Ingrid |date=2014 |title=Carrefour Louisiane |journal=Journal of Language Contact |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=124–153 |doi=10.1163/19552629-00701006|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Acadians and Cajuns: The politics and culture of French minorities in North America |last=Klingler |first=Thomas A. |publisher=Innsbruck University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-3902571939 |editor-last=Mathis-Mosen |editor-first=Ursula |location=Innsbruck |pages=91–103 |chapter=How much Acadian is there in Cajun? |editor-last2=Beschof |editor-first2=Günter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=If I could turn my tongue like that : the Creole language of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana |last=Klingler |first=Thomas A.|date=2003|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0807127797 |location=Baton Rouge|oclc=846496076}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/38807 |title=New Perspectives on Language Variety in the South: Historical and Contemporary Approaches|last=Klingler|first=Thomas A. |publisher=The University of Alabama Press|year=2015 |isbn=9783110196351|editor-last=Picone |editor-first=Michael D. |location=Tuscaloosa|pages=627–640|chapter=Beyond Cajun: Toward an Expanded View of Regional French in Louisiana|editor-last2=Evans Davies|editor-first2=Catherine Evans Davies}}</ref> However, "Cajun French" is commonly used in [[Laity|lay]] discourse by speakers of the language and other inhabitants of Louisiana.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Klingler |first=Thomas A. |title=Language labels and language use among Cajuns and Creoles in Louisiana |editor1=T. Sanchez |editor2=U. Horesh |journal=Working Papers in Linguistics |volume=9 |issue=2 |date=2003 |pages=77–90 |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol9/iss2/8/}}</ref>

===German (857,000 speakers; 1.29 million including Yiddish and Pennsylvania German dialects)===
{{Main|German language in the United States}}
[[File:Americans with German Ancestry by state.svg|thumb|upright=1|[[German American]] states.]]
[[German language|German]] was the 13th most common language spoken at home, according to the 2020 ACS survey. If German-related dialects such as Yiddish and varieties such as Pennsylvania German (Amish) are included, German ranks among the top ten languages spoken in U.S. homes. (The ACS lists both Yiddish and Pennsylvania German separately from German.) By the 18th century, German was a widely spoken language in some American colonies, especially Pennsylvania, where a number of German-speaking Protestants and other religious minorities settled to escape persecution in Europe. Another wave of settlement occurred when Germans fleeing the failure of 19th-century German revolutions immigrated to the United States. Throughout the century, a large number of these immigrants settled in urban areas, where entire neighborhoods were German-speaking and numerous local German-language newspapers and periodicals were established. Germans also took up farming around the country, including the [[Texas Hill Country]], at this time. The language was widely spoken until the United States entered [[World War I]].

In the early 20th century, German was the most widely studied foreign language in the United States, and prior to [[World War I]], more than 6%{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} of American schoolchildren received their primary education exclusively in German, though some of these Germans came from areas outside Germany. Currently, more than 49 million Americans claim [[German American|German ancestry]], the largest self-described ethnic group in the U.S., but less than 4% of them speak a language other than English at home, according to recent [[American Community Survey]]s.<ref name="2005 ACS German">{{Cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:535&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=false&-charIterations=047&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en |title=United States - Selected Population Profile in the United States (German (032-045)) |access-date=November 27, 2008 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090403034514/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:535&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=false&-charIterations=047&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en |archive-date=April 3, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Amish]], concentrated in the State of Pennsylvania, speak a dialect of German known as [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]]; it is widely spoken in Amish communities today.

Waves of colonial Palatines from the Rhenish Palatinate, one of the Holy Roman states, settled in the [[Province of New York]] and the [[Province of Pennsylvania]]. The first Palatines arrived in the late 1600s but the majority came throughout the 1700s; they were known collectively as the [[Palatine Dutch]]. The [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] settled other states, including Indiana and Ohio.<ref name="newyorkstate">{{cite book |title=Proceedings of the Senate of the State of New York on the Life, Character and Public Service of William Pierson Fiero|author=New York (State). Legislature. Senate|year=1915|pages=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofsen00newy2/page/6 7]}}</ref><ref name="homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com">{{cite web|url=http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~brobst/chronicles/chap2.htm|title=Chapter Two – The History Of The German Immigration To America – The Brobst Chronicles|website=Homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com|access-date=August 28, 2017}}</ref> For many years, the term "Palatine" meant [[German American]].<ref name="jodiescales">{{cite book |title=Of Kindred Germanic Origins: Myths, Legends, Genealogy and History of an Ordinary American Family|author=Jodie Scales|year=2001|publisher=iUniverse|pages=46}}</ref>

There is a myth (known as the [[Muhlenberg legend]]) that German was to be the official language of the U.S., but this is inaccurate and based on a failed early attempt to have government documents translated into German.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_026.html
|title=Did Hebrew almost become the official U.S. language?
|date=January 21, 1994
|access-date=February 22, 2008
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213081707/http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_026.html
|archive-date=February 13, 2008
}}</ref> The myth also extends to German being the second official language of Pennsylvania; however, Pennsylvania has no official language. Although more than 41 million Americans claim to have German ancestors,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=US Census Bureau - German-American Day: October 6, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/german-american-day.html |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=Census.gov}}</ref> only 857,000 Americans spoke German at home in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |title=American FactFinder—Results |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212213140/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |access-date=May 29, 2017}}</ref> 

====Pennsylvania Dutch====
[[File:Pennsylvania Dutch map distribution.svg|thumb|[[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]] areas of the [[United States]]]]
{{main|Pennsylvania Dutch language}}
[[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]] or Pennsylvania German is a dialect of [[Palatine German language|Palatine German]] that is traditionally spoken by the [[Pennsylvania Dutch]], and has settled the Midwest, in places such as Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and other states, where many of the speakers live today. It evolved from the [[German dialects|German dialect]] of the [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]] brought over to America by [[Palatines]] from the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in the 1600s.<ref name="First German-Americans">{{Cite web|url=http://www.germanheritage.com/postal/germansettlers/|title=First German-Americans|website=Germanheritage.com|access-date=October 5, 2006|archive-date=May 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509091415/http://www.germanheritage.com/postal/germansettlers/|url-status=dead}}</ref> They settled on land sold to them by [[William Penn]]. Germantown included not only Mennonites, but also Quakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/historic-germantown-new-knowledge-in-a-very-old-neighborhood-2/|title=Historic Germantown – Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia|website=Philadelphiaencyclopedia.org|access-date=August 28, 2017}}</ref> The Pennsylvania Dutch speak Pennsylvania Dutch, and adhere to different Christian denominations: Lutherans, [[German Reformed]], [[Mennonite]]s, [[Amish]], [[Schwarzenau Brethren|German Baptist Brethren]], Roman Catholics; today Pennsylvania Dutch is mainly spoken by [[Old Order Amish]] and [[Old Order Mennonite]]s.

====Texas German====
[[File:Map of USA TX.svg|thumb|The [[State of Texas]]]]
{{main|Texas German}}
Texas German is a group of High German dialects spoken by Texas Germans, descendants of German immigrants who settled in Texas in the mid-19th century.

====Yiddish====
[[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], a [[West Germanic language]] historically spoken by [[Ashkenazi Jews]] in Central and eastern Europe, has a much longer history in the United States than Hebrew.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joshua A. Fishman|title=Yiddish: turning to life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4MKJFx1b3xAC|year=1991|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|isbn=978-90-272-2075-2|pages=148–159|chapter=Appendix: The Hebrew Language in the United States|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4MKJFx1b3xAC&pg=PA148 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102091443/https://books.google.com/books?id=4MKJFx1b3xAC|archive-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> It has been present since at least the late 19th century and continues to have roughly 148,000 speakers as of the 2009 American Community Survey. Though they came from varying geographic backgrounds and nuanced approaches to worship, immigrant Jews of Central Europe, Germany and Russia were often united under a common understanding of the Yiddish language once they settled in America. By the early 20th century, dozens of publications in the language were available in most East Coast cities. Though the use of Yiddish has declined by quite a bit since the end of World War II, it has by no means disappeared. Many Israeli immigrants and expatriates have at least some understanding of the language in addition to Hebrew, and many of the descendants of the great migration of [[Ashkenazi Jews]] of the past century pepper their English vocabulary with [[List of English words of Yiddish origin|Yiddish loan words]]. Yiddish remains the lingua franca among American [[Haredi Jews]] (particularly [[Hasidic]] Jewry), whose communities are concentrated in Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and the suburbs of New York.<ref>{{Citation
 |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/a-yiddish-revival-with-new-york-leading-the-way/ 
 |title=A Yiddish Revival, With New York Leading the Way 
 |author=Sewell Chan 
 |date=October 17, 2007 
 |work=The New York Times 
 |access-date=August 15, 2008 
 |url-status=live 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930033940/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/a-yiddish-revival-with-new-york-leading-the-way/ 
 |archive-date=September 30, 2008 
}}<br />
+ {{Citation 
 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-07-me-yiddish7-story.html
 |title=Yiddish Program Aims to Get Beyond Schmoozing 
 |author=Patricia Ward Biederman 
 |date=July 7, 2005 
 |work=Los Angeles Times 
 |access-date=August 15, 2008 
 |url-status=live 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221210206/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/07/local/me-yiddish7 
 |archive-date=February 21, 2009 
}}<br />
+ {{Citation 
 |url=http://yiddishkaytla.org/index.html 
 |title=Yiddishkayt Los Angeles 
 |publisher=yiddishkaytla.org 
 |access-date=August 15, 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724032322/https://www.yiddishkaytla.org/index.html 
 |archive-date=July 24, 2008 
}}</ref> A significant diffusion of Yiddish loan words into the non-Jewish population continues to be a distinguishing feature of New York City English. Some of these words include ''glitch, chutzpah, mensch, kvetch, klutz'', etc.

===Russian (1.04 million speakers)===
{{Main|Russian language in the United States}}
In the United States, the [[Russian language]] is spoken mostly in urban areas of the states of New York, California, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. It is also spoken in isolated areas of Alaska originally settled in the 18th and 19th centuries by Russian ''[[promyshlenniki]]''; these were largely Siberian fur hunters, river merchants, and mercenaries who later worked as sailors, carpenters, artisans, and craftsmen. In the 21st century, Russian is especially spoken in immigrant neighborhoods of larger U.S. cities: New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Sacramento, Spokane, Miami, [[Portland, Oregon]], and two Portland suburbs, [[Vancouver, Washington]] and [[Woodburn, Oregon]].

From 1799 until 1867, the [[Russian-American Company]] owned most all of what became [[Alaska Territory]]. This changed with the formal [[Alaska Purchase|sale of Alaska to the United States]] on March 30, 1867, after the final resolution of the [[Crimean War]]. The presence of Russian speakers in the United States has always been limited in numbers, and even more so after the assassination of the [[House of Romanov|Romanov dynasty]] of [[tsar]]s. However, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing until the mid-1990s, many [[Soviet Jews in America|Russian-speaking Jews from the Soviet Union]] (and later from its independent constituent republics of Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, and Uzbekistan) have immigrated to the United States, increasing the use of Russian in the country.

The largest Russian-speaking neighborhoods in the United States are found in New York City (specifically the [[Brighton Beach, Brooklyn|Brighton Beach]] area of Brooklyn, [[Forest Hills, New York|Forest Hills]] and [[Rego Park, New York|Rego Park]] in Queens, and parts of [[Staten Island, New York|Staten Island]]), [[Los Angeles]] (especially [[West Los Angeles]] and [[West Hollywood]]), neighborhoods of Philadelphia (notably the [[Far Northeast Philadelphia|Far Northeast]]), and parts of [[Miami]] ([[Sunny Isles Beach]]).

The Russian-language media group [[Slavic Voice of America]], based in [[Dallas, Texas]], serves Russian-speaking Americans.

====Alaskan Russian====
{{main|Alaskan Russian}}
[[File:Map of USA AK.svg|thumb|The [[State of Alaska]]]]
Alaskan Russian, known locally as Old Russian, is a dialect of [[Russian language|Russian]] influenced by the [[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]] language spoken by [[Alaskan Creole people|Alaskan Creoles]]. Most of its speakers live on [[Kodiak Island]] and in the [[Ninilchik]] ([[Kenai Peninsula]]). It has been isolated from other varieties of Russian for over a century.<ref>Evgeny Golovko (2010) [http://www.ninilchikrussian.com/documents/Golovko.pdf 143 Years after Russian America: the Russian language without Russians.] Paper read at the 2010 Conference on Russian America, Sitka, August 20, 2010.</ref>

Kodiak Russian was natively spoken along the Afognak Strait until the [[Great Alaskan earthquake]] and tsunami of 1964. It has become moribund, spoken by only a handful of elderly people, and is virtually undocumented.<ref name=NSA>{{cite web |author= Michael Kraus |title= IPY-Documenting Alaskan and Neighboring Languages |date= 2016 |url= https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0732787}}</ref>

Ninilchik Russian has been better studied and is more vibrant. It developed from the [[Russian colonization of the Americas|Russian colonial settlement]] of the village of Ninilchik in 1847.<ref>[https://www.rbth.com/society/2013/05/29/russian_languages_most_isolated_dialect_found_in_alaska_26519.html Russian language's most isolated dialect found in Alaska.] ''Russia Beyond'', 2013 May 13.</ref><ref>[http://www.ninilchikrussian.com/index.html Ninilchik Russian] (with dictionary)</ref>

Ninilchik Russian vocabulary is clearly [[Russian language|Russian]], with a few borrowings from [[English language|English]] and [[Alaska Native languages|Alaskan native languages]].

In [[Nikolaevsk, Alaska]], 66.57% of the population still spoke Russian at home as late as 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nikolaevsk, Alaska|date=May 25, 2017 |website=MLA Language Map Data Center |url=https://apps.mla.org/map_data_results%26SRVY_YEAR%3D2000%26geo%3D%26state_id%3D2%26county_id%3D%26mode%3Dplace%26lang_id%3D%26zip%3D%26place_id%3D54085%26cty_id%3D%26region_id%3D%26division_id%3D%26ll%3D%26ea%3Dy%26order%3D%26a%3Dy%26pc%3D1|access-date=October 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525064035/https://apps.mla.org/map_data_results%26SRVY_YEAR%3D2000%26geo%3D%26state_id%3D2%26county_id%3D%26mode%3Dplace%26lang_id%3D%26zip%3D%26place_id%3D54085%26cty_id%3D%26region_id%3D%26division_id%3D%26ll%3D%26ea%3Dy%26order%3D%26a%3Dy%26pc%3D1 |archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Dutch (142,000 speakers)===
[[File:Dutch USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Distribution of U.S. households that speak Dutch at home in 2000]]
In a 1990 demographic consensus, 3% of surveyed citizens claimed to be of Dutch descent. Modern estimates place the [[Dutch American]] population (with total or partial Dutch heritage) at 3.1&nbsp;million, or 0.93%,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Table B04006 - People Reporting Ancestry - 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=010XX00US,$0400000&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B04006 |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> lagging just a bit behind [[Norwegian Americans]] and [[Swedish Americans]],<ref name=":0" /> while 885,000<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Table B04004 - People Reporting Single Ancestry - 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |url=https://data.census.gov/table?t=Ancestry&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B04004 |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>&nbsp;Americans claimed total Dutch heritage.

An estimated 141,580 people, or 0.0486%,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2009-2013 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Census.gov |ref=census0913}}</ref> in the United States still speak the Dutch language, 
including its [[Flemish dialects|Flemish variant]], at home as of 2013. This is in addition to the 23,010 and 510 speakers, respectively, of the [[Afrikaans]] and [[West Frisian language|West-Frisian]] languages, both closely related to Dutch.<ref name=":4" /> Dutch speakers in the U.S. are concentrated mainly in California (23,500), Florida (10,900), Pennsylvania (9,900), Ohio (9,600), New York (8,700) and Michigan (6,600, residing almost entirely in the city of [[Holland, Michigan|Holland]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&mode=lang_tops&SRVY_YEAR=2010&lang_id=610|title=Dutch : Source: American Community Survey : 5-Year Estimates, Public Use Microdata Sample, 2006–2010|publisher=Mla.org|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113032530/http://www.mla.org/map_data_results%26mode%3Dlang_tops%26SRVY_YEAR%3D2010%26lang_id%3D610|archive-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref> In 2021, 95.3% of the total Dutch-American population aged 5 years and over spoke only English at home.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Table S0201 - (Dutch) Selected Population Profile in the United States - 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Dutch&t=Language+Spoken+at+Home |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>

====Low Dutch====
{{further|Jersey Dutch language}}
{{further|Mohawk Dutch}}

There has been a Dutch presence in North America since establishment of 17th-century colony of [[New Netherland]] (parts of New York, New Jersey and Delaware), where Dutch was spoken by the [[New Netherlander]], the original settlers, and their descendants. It was still spoken in the region at the time of the American Revolution and thereafter. For example, [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s wife, [[Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton|Eliza Hamilton]], attended a Dutch-language church during their marriage. African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist [[Sojourner Truth]] (born "Isabella Baumfree") was a native speaker of Dutch. [[Martin Van Buren]], the first president born in the United States following its independence from Great Britain, spoke Dutch as his [[native language]]. He is the only U.S. president whose [[first language]] was not English.

Vernacular dialects of Dutch were spoken in northeastern New Jersey (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic county) and the Capital District of New York until they gradually declined throughout the 20th century.

==Indigenous languages==
[[File:Indigenous languages of the US.png|thumb|Map showing language families of the US prior to European settlement.]]

===Native American languages===
[[Native American languages]] predate European settlement of the [[New World]]. In a few parts of the U.S. (mostly on [[Indian reservation]]s), they continue to be spoken fluently. Most of these languages are [[Endangered languages|endangered]], although there are efforts to revive them. Normally the fewer the speakers of a language the greater the [[degree of endangerment]], but there are many small Native American language communities in the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico) which continue to thrive despite their small size.

In 1929, speaking of indigenous Native American languages, linguist [[Edward Sapir]] observed:<ref>{{Citation
|title=Daily life of Native Americans from post-Columbian through nineteenth-century America
|work=The Greenwood Press "Daily life through history" series
|author1=Alice N. Nash
|author2=Christoph Strobel
|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group
|year= 2006
|isbn=978-0-313-33515-0
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ghv-E7OuBlMC
|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ghv-E7OuBlMC&pg=PR9 IX]
}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Few people realize that within the confines of the United States there is spoken today a far greater variety of languages ... than in the whole of Europe. We may go further. We may say, quite literally and safely, that in the state of California alone there are greater and more numerous linguistic extremes than can be illustrated in all the length and breadth of Europe.|sign=|source=}}

====Navajo====
{{Main|Navajo language}}

According to the 2000 census and other language surveys, the largest Native American language-speaking community by far is the Navajo. [[Navajo language|Navajo]] is an [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]] language of the [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené family]], with 178,000 speakers, primarily in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Altogether, Navajo speakers make up more than 50% of all Native American language speakers in the United States. [[Western Apache language|Western Apache]], with 12,500 speakers, also mostly in Arizona, is closely related to Navajo but not mutually intelligible with it. Navajo and other Athabaskan languages in the Southwest are relative outliers; most other Athabascan languages are spoken in the [[Pacific Northwest]] and Alaska. Navajo has struggled to keep a healthy speaker base, although this problem has been alleviated to some extent by extensive education programs on the [[Navajo Nation]], including a Navajo language immersion school in [[Fort Defiance, Arizona]].

====Cherokee====
{{Main|Cherokee language}}

[[File:Cherokee USC2000 PHS NCandOK.svg|thumb|right|Cherokee language distribution of the United States]]

Cherokee is the [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian language]] spoken by the [[Cherokee]] people, and the official language of the [[Cherokee Nation]].<ref name=CARLAb>{{cite web
| title = The Cherokee Nation & its Language
| work = University of Minnesota: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
| date = 2008
| access-date = May 22, 2014
| url = http://www.carla.umn.edu/conferences/past/immersion2008/documents/Peter_L_CherokeeNation.pdf
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131213/http://www.carla.umn.edu/conferences/past/immersion2008/documents/Peter_L_CherokeeNation.pdf
| archive-date = July 14, 2014
}}</ref> Significant numbers of Cherokee speakers of all ages<ref name=about>{{cite web|url=http://aboutworldlanguages.com/cherokee |title=Cherokee|last=Thompson|first=Irene|date=August 6, 2013|publisher=Aboutworldlanguages.com/|access-date=May 22, 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521085122/http://aboutworldlanguages.com/cherokee|archive-date=May 21, 2014}}</ref> still populate the [[Qualla Boundary]] in [[Cherokee, North Carolina]] and several counties within the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, significantly [[Cherokee County, Oklahoma|Cherokee]], [[Sequoyah County, Oklahoma|Sequoyah]], [[Mayes County|Mayes]], [[Adair County, Oklahoma|Adair]], and [[Delaware County, Oklahoma|Delaware]]. Increasing numbers of Cherokee youth are renewing interest in the traditions, history, and language of their ancestors.<ref name = about /> Cherokee-speaking communities stand at the forefront of language preservation, and at local schools, all lessons are taught in Cherokee and thus it serves as the medium of instruction from pre-school on up.<ref name=CARLAb/> Also, church services and traditional ceremonial [[stomp dance]]s are held in the language in Oklahoma and on the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina.<ref name=CARLAb/>

Cherokee is one of the few, or perhaps the only, Native American language with an increasing population of speakers,<ref name=introductory>{{cite book |last= Joyner|first= Michael|date= September 30, 2010|title= Cherokee Lessons - Introductory Edition |url=https://www.google.com/shopping/product/16900993081780071216?q=cherokee+language&biw=1416&bih=718&ei=5luLU4HhDuaisQTI7IHIBQ&ved=0COUBEKYrMAo4FA |publisher= Lulu Enterprises Incorporated|pages= 16–17|access-date=June 1, 2013}}</ref> and along with [[Navajo language|Navajo]] it is the only indigenous American language with more than 50,000 speakers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/society/native-american-languages.html |title=Native American languages |publisher=Infoplease.com |access-date=October 23, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924051042/http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/society/native-american-languages.html |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref> a figure most likely achieved through the tribe's 10-year long language preservation plan involving growing new speakers through immersion schools for children,<ref>{{Cite news| last = Chavez, Will| title = Immersion students win trophies at language fair| work = Cherokeephoenix.org| access-date = April 8, 2013| date = April 5, 2012| url = http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/6142| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130525231358/http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/6142| archive-date = May 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Native Now : Language: Cherokee| work = We Shall Remain - American Experience - PBS| access-date = April 9, 2014| year = 2008| url = https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407132754/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee| archive-date = April 7, 2014}}</ref> developing new words for modern phrases, teaching the language to non-Cherokees in schools and universities,<ref name="wcu.edu">{{cite web| title = Cherokee Language Revitalization Project| work = Western Carolina University| access-date = April 9, 2014| year = 2014| url = http://www.wcu.edu/academics/departments-schools-colleges/cas/casdepts/anthsoc/cherokee-studies/cherokeelanguagerevitalizationproject.asp| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407084751/http://www.wcu.edu/academics/departments-schools-colleges/cas/casdepts/anthsoc/cherokee-studies/cherokeelanguagerevitalizationproject.asp| archive-date = April 7, 2014}}</ref> fostering the language among young adults so their children can use that language at home, developing [[iPhone]] and [[iPad]] apps for language education, the development of Cherokee language radio stations including [[Cherokee Voices, Cherokee Sounds]],<ref>{{Cite news| last = Hauk| first = Alexis| title = Radio Free Cherokee: Endangered Languages Take to the Airwaves| work = The Atlantic| access-date = April 9, 2014| url = https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/08/radio-free-cherokee-endangered-languages-take-to-the-airwaves/261165/| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140116120948/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/08/radio-free-cherokee-endangered-languages-take-to-the-airwaves/261165/| archive-date = January 16, 2014}}</ref> and promoting the writing system through public signage, products like the [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] [[iPhone]], [[internet]] use through [[Google]] including [[Gmail]], and others so the language remains relevant in the 21st century.

====Other Native American languages====
[[Dakota language|Dakota]] is a [[Siouan languages|Siouan language]] with 18,000 speakers in the US alone (22,000 including speakers in Canada), not counting 6,000 speakers of the closely related [[Lakota language|Lakota]]. Most speakers live in the states of [[North Dakota]] and [[South Dakota]]. Other Siouan languages include the closely related [[Winnebago language|Winnebago]], and the more distant [[Crow language|Crow]], among others.

[[Yupik languages|Central Alaskan Yup'ik]] is an [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut language]] with 16,000 speakers, most of whom live in Alaska. The term "Yupik" is applied to its relatives, which are not necessarily mutually intelligible with Central Alaskan, including [[Naukan Yupik language|Naukan]] and [[Central Siberian Yupik language|Central Siberian]], among others.

The [[O'odham language]], spoken by the [[Pima people|Pima]] and the [[Tohono O'odham]], is a [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan language]] with more than 12,000 speakers, most of whom live in central and southern [[Arizona]] and northern [[Sonora]]. Other Uto-Aztecan languages include [[Hopi language|Hopi]], [[Shoshoni language|Shoshone]], and the [[Colorado River Numic language|Pai-Ute]] languages.

[[Choctaw language|Choctaw]] has 11,000 speakers. Choctaw is part of the [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean family]], like [[Muscogee language|Seminole]] and [[Alabama language|Alabama]].

The [[Algic languages|Algonquian language family]] includes languages like [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] (Chippewa), [[Cheyenne language|Cheyenne]], and [[Cree language|Cree]].

[[Keresan languages|Keres]] has 11,000 speakers in New Mexico and is a [[language isolate]]. The Keres pueblo people are the largest of the Pueblo nations. The Keres pueblo of [[Acoma Pueblo|Acoma]] is the oldest continually inhabited community in the United States. [[Zuni language|Zuni]], another isolate, has around 10,000 speakers, most of whom reside within the [[Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico|Zuni pueblo]].

Because of immigration from [[Mexico]], there are Mexican native American languages speakers in the US. There are thousands of [[Nahuatl language in the United States|Nahuatl]], [[Mixtec language|Mixtec]], [[Zapotec language|Zapotec]] and [[Trique languages|Trique]] speakers in communities established mainly in the southern states.

Although the languages of the Americas have a history stretching back about 17,000 to 12,000 years, current knowledge of them is limited. There are doubtlessly a number of undocumented languages that were once spoken in the United States that are missing from historical record.

====List of Native American languages====
Below is an estimate of Native American languages "spoken at home" in the United States (American Community Survey 2006–2008).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls|format=XLS|title=Table 1. Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over for the United States: 2006-2008 : Release Date: April, 2010 |publisher=Census.gov|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922225023/https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls|archive-date=September 22, 2014}}</ref> This is not an exhaustive list of Native American languages in the US. Because the distinction between dialect and language is not always clear, multiple dialects of varying [[mutually intelligible|mutual intelligibility]] may be classified as a single language, while a group of effectively identical dialects may be classified separately for historical or cultural reasons. Languages included here may be classified as "extinct" (having no living native speakers), but many extinct or moribund Native American languages are the subjects of ongoing [[language revitalization]] efforts; other extinct languages undergoing revitalization might not be listed here.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Language !! Endonym{{efn|A language's endonym may not be available for a variety of possible reasons: The language in question encompasses multiple dialects with unique endonyms; The language in question is actually a [[language family]]; The language or community of speakers has a prohibition against writing the language; No documentation is immediately available; etc.}} !! Family !! data-sort-type="number" |Speakers<br />(% of total) !! data-sort-type="number" |Does not speak English<br />"Very Well"{{efn|Respondents who reported speaking English less than "Very Well." The total margin of error for this group was 1.78%; however, margins of error for individual languages, especially those with few total speakers, may exceed 100% in some cases.}}
|-
| '''Total''' || — || — || '''444,124 (100)''' || '''19.22%'''
|-
| Total (excl. Navajo) || — || — || 203,127 (54.32) || 15.82%
|-
| [[Navajo language|Navajo]] ||data-sort-value="Dine bizaad"| ''Diné bizaad'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 170,822 (45.68) || 23.25%
|-
| [[Dakota language|Dakota]] ||data-sort-value="Dakhotiyapi"| ''Dakȟótiyapi'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 18,804 (5.03) || 9.86%
|-
| [[Yupik languages|Yupik]] || — || [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] || 18,626 (4.98) || 37.02%
|-
|[[O'odham language|O'odham]]
|—
|[[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]]
|15,123 (3.59)
|8.03%
|-
| [[Apache languages|Apache]] || ''Ndee biyati' '' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 14,012 (3.75) || 3.53%
|-
| [[Keresan languages|Keres]] || — || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 13,073 (3.50) || 6.20%
|-
| [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]] || ''Tsalagi Gawonihisdi'' (ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ) || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 12,320 (3.29) || 16.33%
|-
| [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]] || ''Chahta' '' || [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] || 10,368 (2.77) || 23.44%
|-
| [[Zuni language|Zuni]] || ''Shiwi'ma'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 9432 (2.52) || 14.22%
|-
| American Indian (Other) || — || — || 8888 (2.38) || 16.73%
|-
| [[O'odham language|O'odham]] (Pima) ||data-sort-value="Oodham nioki"| ''Oʼodham ñiʼokĭ'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 8190 (2.19) || 14.70%
|-
| [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] (Chippewa) || ''Anishinaabemowin'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 6986 (1.87) || 11.28%
|-
| [[Hopi language|Hopi]] || ''Hopilàvayi'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 6776 (1.81) || 18.80%
|-
| [[Inupiat language|Inupiat]] (Inupik) ||data-sort-value="Inupiatun"| ''Iñupiatun'' || [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] || 5580 (1.49) || 26.04%
|-
| [[Tewa language|Tewa]] || — || [[Tanoan languages|Tanoan]] || 5123 (1.37) || 13.80%
|-
| [[Muskogean languages|Muskogee]] (Creek) || ''Mvskoke'' || [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] || 5072 (1.36) || 19.62%
|-
| [[Crow language|Crow]] ||data-sort-value="Apsaalooke"| ''Apsáalooke'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 3962 (1.06) || 6.59%
|-
| [[Shoshoni language|Shoshoni]] ||data-sort-value="Sosoni daigwape"| ''Sosoni' da̲i̲gwape'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 2512 (0.67) || 7.25%
|-
| [[Cheyenne language|Cheyenne]] ||data-sort-value="Tsehesenestsestotse"| ''Tsėhésenėstsestȯtse'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 2399 (0.64) || 3.21%
|-
| [[Tiwa languages|Tiwa]] || — || [[Tanoan languages|Tanoan]] || 2269 (0.61) || 3.22%
|-
| [[Jemez language|Towa]] (Jemez) || — || [[Tanoan languages|Tanoan]] || 2192 (0.59) || 27.65%
|-
| [[Inuit languages|Inuit]] (Eskimo) || — || [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] || 2168 (0.58) || 25.46%
|-
| [[Blackfoot language|Blackfoot]] || ''Siksiká'' (ᓱᖽᐧᖿ), ''Niitsí'powahsin'', (ᖹᒧᐧᑲᖷᐦᓱᐡ) or ''Siksikáí'powahsin'' (ᓱᖽᐧᖼᑲᖷᐦᓱᐡ) || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 1970 (0.53) || 11.02%
|-
| [[Sahaptin language|Sahaptin]] || ''Ichishkíin sɨ́nwit'' || [[Plateau Penutian languages|Plateau Penutian]] || 1654 (0.44) || 6.17%
|-
| [[Paiute language (disambiguation)|Paiute]] || — || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 1638 (0.44) || 11.78%
|-
| [[Athabaskan languages|Athapascan]] || — || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 1627 (0.44) || 19.55%
|-
| [[Colorado River Numic language|Ute]] ||data-sort-value="Nuu apaghapi"| ''Núu-'apaghapi'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 1625 (0.43) || 5.23%
|-
|[[Southern Tiwa language|Southern Tiwa]]
|—
|[[Tanoan languages|Tanoan]]
|1600 (0.42)
|
|-
| [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]] || ''Kanien’kéha' '' || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 1423 (0.38) || 11.67%
|-
| [[Seneca language|Seneca]] ||data-sort-value="Onodowaga"| ''Onödowága'' || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 1353 (0.36) || 11.23%
|-
| [[Ho-Chunk language|Ho-Chunk]] (Winnebago) ||data-sort-value="Hocak"| ''Hocąk'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 1340 (0.36) || 6.27%
|-
| [[Kiowa language|Kiowa]] ||data-sort-value="Cauijoga"| ''Cáuijògà'' || [[Tanoan languages|Tanoan]] || 1274 (0.34) || 9.58%
|-
| [[Aleut language|Aleut]] || ''Unangam tunuu'' || [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] || 1236 (0.33) || 19.01%
|-
| [[Salishan languages|Salish]] || — || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 1233 (0.33) || 22.87%
|-
| [[Gwich’in language|Gwich’in]] (Kuchin) || ''Gwich’in'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 1217 (0.33) || 25.82%
|-
| [[Fox language|Kickapoo]] || ''Kiwikapawa'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 1141 (0.31) || 41.72%
|-
| [[Arapaho language|Arapaho]] ||data-sort-value="Hinonoeitiit"| ''Hinónoʼeitíít'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 1087 (0.29) || 1.20%
|-
| [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]] || ''Lingít'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 1026 (0.27) || 8.19%
|-
| [[Central Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]] ([[St. Lawrence Island|SLI Yupik]]) || ''Sivuqaghmiistun'' || [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] || 993 (0.27) || 39.48%
|-
| [[Malecite-Passamaquoddy language|Passamaquoddy]] || ''Peskotomuhkat'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 982 (0.26) || 6.11%
|-
| [[Comanche language|Comanche]] ||data-sort-value="Numu tekwapu"| ''Nʉmʉ tekwapʉ'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 963 (0.26) || 10.59%
|-
| [[Cree language|Cree]] ||data-sort-value="Nehiyawewin"| ''Nēhiyawēwin'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 951 (0.25) || 8.73%
|-
| [[Menominee language|Menominee]] ||data-sort-value="Omaeqnomenew"| ''Omāēqnomenew'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 946 (0.25) || 39.64%
|-
| [[Nez Perce language|Nez Perce]] || ''Niimiipuutímt'' || [[Plateau Penutian languages|Plateau Penutian]] || 942 (0.25) || 12.10%
|-
| [[Potawatomi language|Potawatomi]] ||data-sort-value="Bodewadmi"| ''Bodéwadmi'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 824 (0.22) || 9.95%
|-
| [[Hidatsa language|Hidatsa]] || ''Hidatsa'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 806 (0.22) || 4.47%
|-
|[[Kickapoo people|Kickapoo]]
|—
|[[Algic languages|Algic]]
|800 (0.22)
|
|-
| [[Fox language|Mesquakie]] (Fox) || ''Meshkwahkihaki'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 727 (0.19) || 22.15%
|-
| [[Karuk language|Karok]] ||data-sort-value="Karuk"| ''Káruk'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 700 (0.19) || 5.43%
|-
| [[Pomoan languages|Pomo]] || — || [[Pomoan languages|Pomoan]] || 648 (0.17) || 14.81%
|-
| [[Oneida language|Oneida]] || ''Oneyota'aaka'' || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 527 (0.14) || 58.63%
|-
| [[Yurok language|Yurok]] || ''Puliklah'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 491 (0.13) || 1.63%
|-
| [[Cocopah language|Cocopah]] || ''Kwikapa'' || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 483 (0.13) || 22.77%
|-
| [[Havasupai–Hualapai language|Hualapai]] || ''Hwalbáy'' || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 458 (0.12) || 4.80%
|-
| [[Omaha–Ponca language|Omaha]] ||data-sort-value="Umoho"| ''Umoⁿhoⁿ'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 457 (0.12) || 1.97%
|-
| [[Mescalero-Chiricahua language|Chiricahua]] || ''Ndee bizaa'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 457 (0.12) || —
|-
| [[Jicarilla language|Jicarilla]] ||data-sort-value="Abaachi mizaa"| ''Abáachi mizaa'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 455 (0.12) || 14.51%
|-
| [[Yaqui language|Yaqui]] || ''Yoem noki'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 425 (0.11) || 10.12%
|-
| [[Yokutsan languages|Yokuts]] || — || ''[[Yokutsan languages|Yokutsan]]'' || 407 (0.11) || 27.27%
|-
|[[Koasati language|Koasati]]
|Coushatta
|[[Muskogean languages|Muskoeaen]]
|370 (0.10)
|—
|-
| [[Mono language (California)|Mono]] || ''Mono'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 349 (0.09) || —
|-
| [[Mojave language|Mohave]] || ''Hamakhav'' || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 330 (0.09) || 6.36%
|-
| [[Luiseño language|Luiseño]] || ''Cham'teela'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 327 (0.09) || 4.28%
|-
| [[Shawnee language|Shawnee]] || ''Sawanwa'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 321 (0.09) || 6.23%
|-
| [[Maidu language|Maidu]] (NE Maidu) ||data-sort-value="Majdy"| ''Májdy'' || [[Maiduan languages|Maiduan]] || 319 (0.09) || 6.90%
|-
| [[Ottawa dialect|Ottawa]] || ''Nishnaabemwin'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 312 (0.08) || 10.90%
|-
| [[Algonquian languages|Algonquin]] || ''Anicinâbemowin'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 288 (0.08) || 19.79%
|-
| [[Okanagan language|Okanogan]] ||data-sort-value="Nselxcin"| ''Nsəlxcin'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 284 (0.08) || 10.92%
|-
| [[Osage language|Osage]] || ''Wazhazhe ie'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 260 (0.07) || 20.38%
|-
| [[Wichita language|Wichita]] ||data-sort-value="Kirikiris"| ''Kirikirʔi:s'' || [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]] || 242 (0.06) || 16.12%
|-
| [[Onondaga language|Onondaga]] ||data-sort-value="Onodagega"| ''Onǫda’gegá'' || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 239 (0.06) || 2.93%
|-
| [[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmaq]] (Micmac) ||data-sort-value="Mikmawisimk"| ''Míkmawísimk'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 230 (0.06) || 10.87%
|-
| [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Digueño]] (Ipai-Kumiai-Tipai) || — || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 228 (0.06) || 60.96%
|-
| [[Washo language|Washo]] ||data-sort-value="Wasiw itlu"| ''Wá:šiw ʔítlu'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 227 (0.06) || 9.69%
|-
| [[Miwok languages|Miwok]] || ''Miwok'' || [[Utian languages|Utian]] || 216 (0.06) || —
|-
| [[Lushootseed language|Lushootseed]] (Puget Salish) ||data-sort-value="Xwelsucid"| ''Xʷəlšucid'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 207 (0.06) || 47.83%
|-
| [[Kutenai language|Kutenai]] || ''Ktunaxa'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 200 (0.05) || 32.50%
|-
| [[Mikasuki language|Miccosukee]] || ''Mikisúkî'' || [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] || 188 (0.05) || 22.87%
|-
| [[Tuscarora language|Tuscarora]] ||data-sort-value="Skarure"| ''Ska:rù:rę' '' || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 179 (0.05) || 10.06%
|-
| [[Makah language|Makah]] ||data-sort-value="Qwiqwidiccaq"| ''Qʷi·qʷi·diččaq'' || [[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]] || 176 (0.05) || 30.11%
|-
| [[Coeur d'Alene language|Coeur d'Alene]] || ''Snchitsuʼumshtsn'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 174 (0.05) || —
|-
| [[Hupa language|Hupa]] ||data-sort-value="Natinixwe"| ''Na:tinixwe'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 174 (0.05) || —
|-
| [[Quechan language|Quechan]] (Yuma) || ''Kwtsaan'' || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 172 (0.05) || 31.98%
|-
| [[Miami-Illinois language|Miami]] || ''Myaamia'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 168 (0.04) || 50.60%
|-
| [[Alabama language|Alabama]] || ''Albaamo innaaɬiilka'' || [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] || 165 (0.04) || 20.00%
|-
| [[Lenape language|Lenape]] (Delaware) ||data-sort-value="Lenape"| ''Lënape / Lunaapeew'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 146 (0.04) || 25.34%
|-
| [[Klallam language|Clallam]] ||data-sort-value="Nexwslayemucen"| ''Nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əmúcən'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 146 (0.04) || 1.37%
|-
| [[Penobscot language|Penobscot]] (E Abenaki) || ''Panawahpskek'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 144 (0.04) || 5.56%
|-
| [[Yavapai language|Yavapai]] || — || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 139 (0.04) || —
|-
| [[Cahuilla language|Cahuilla]] || ''Ivia'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 139 (0.04) || —
|-
| [[Omaha-Ponca language|Ponca]] ||data-sort-value="Panka"| ''Paⁿka'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 131 (0.04) || 6.87%
|-
| [[Quinault language|Quinault]] ||data-sort-value="Kwinayl"| ''Kʷínaył'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 128 (0.03) || —
|-
| [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]] (Ingalit) || ''Degexit’an'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 127 (0.03) || —
|-
| [[Pawnee language|Pawnee]] ||data-sort-value="Paari"| ''Paári'' || [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]] || 122 (0.03) || 16.39%
|-
| [[Haida language|Haida]] ||data-sort-value="Xaat Kil"| ''X̱aat Kíl'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 118 (0.03) || 19.49%
|-
| [[Cowlitz language|Cowlitz]] || ''Stl'pulimuhkl'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 110 (0.03) || 82.73%
|-
| [[Mandan language|Mandan]] ||data-sort-value="Nuetare"| ''Nų́ʔetaːre'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 104 (0.03) || 38.46%
|-
| [[Arikara language|Arikara]] ||data-sort-value="Sahnis"| ''Sáhniš'' || [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]] || 103 (0.03) || —
|-
| [[Klamath language|Klamath]] || ''Maqlaqs'' || [[Plateau Penutian languages|Plateau Penutian]] || 95 (0.03) || 27.37%
|-
| [[Havasupai dialect|Havasupai]] || ''Havasu’baaja'' || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 90 (0.02) || 52.22%
|-
| [[Chitimacha language|Chitimacha]] || ''Sitimaxa'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 89 (0.02) || 21.35%
|-
| [[Abenaki language|Abenaki]] (W Abenaki) ||data-sort-value="Wobanakiodwawogan"| ''Wôbanakiôdwawôgan'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 86 (0.02) || —
|-
| [[Kwak'wala]] (Kwakiutl) || ''Kwak'wala'' || [[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]] || 85 (0.02) || 24.71%
|-
| [[Tututni language|Tututni]] (Rogue River) ||data-sort-value="Dotodeni"| ''Dotodəni'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 84 (0.02) || —
|-
| [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquois]] || — || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 76 (0.02) || —
|-
| [[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Tsimshian]] ||data-sort-value="Smalgyax"| ''Sm'algyax'' || [[Tsimshianic languages|Tsimshianic]] || 68 (0.02) || —
|-
| [[Achumawi language|Achumawi]] || — || [[Palaihnihan languages|Palaihnihan]] || 68 (0.02) || —
|-
| [[Chiwere language|Chiwere]] || ''Jíwere'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 60 (0.02) || —
|-
| [[Koasati language|Koasati]] || ''Kowassá:ti'' || [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] || 59 (0.02) || 6.78%
|-
| [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]] || ''Denaakkʼe'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 58 (0.02) || 12.07%
|-
| [[Upper Chinook language|Upper Chinook]] || ''Kiksht'' || [[Chinookan languages|Chinookan]] || 58 (0.02) || 10.34%
|-
| [[Caddo language|Caddo]] || ''Hasí:nay'' || [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]] || 51 (0.01) || 23.53%
|-
| [[Central Kalapuya language|Kalapuya]] (Santiam) || — || [[Kalapuyan languages|Kalapuyan]] || 50 (0.01) || —
|-
| [[Gros Ventre language|Gros Ventre]] (Atsina) || ''Ahahnelin'' || [[Algic languages|Algic]] || 45 (0.01) || —
|-
| [[Valley Yokuts|Tachi]] || — || [[Yokutsan languages|Yokutsan]] || 45 (0.01) || 57.78%
|-
| [[Maricopa language|Maricopa]] || ''Piipaash chuukwer'' || [[Yuman–Cochimí languages|Yuman]] || 44 (0.01) || 22.73%
|-
| [[Chumashan languages|Chumash]] ||data-sort-value="Shamala"| ''S.hamala'' || [[Chumashan languages|Chumashan]] || 39 (0.01) || 100.00%
|-
| [[Nomlaki language|Nomlaki]] || ''Nomlāqa'' || [[Wintuan languages|Wintuan]] || 38 (0.01) || —
|-
| [[Konkow language|Konkow]] (NW Maidu) || ''Koyoom k'awi'' || [[Maiduan languages|Maiduan]] || 32 || 100.00%
|-
|[[Tunica language|Tunica]]
|Yuron
|[[Language isolate|Isolate]]
|32
|—
|-
| [[Tonkawa language|Tonkawa]] || ''Tickanwa•tic'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 29 || —
|-
|[[Caddo language|Caddo]]
|—
|[[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]]
|25
|—
|-
| [[Wintu language|Wintu]] || ''Wintʰu:h'' || [[Wintuan languages|Wintuan]] || 24 || —
|-
| [[Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language|Spokane]] || ''Npoqínišcn'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 20 || 40.00%
|-
| [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]] || ''Atnakenaege’'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 18 || —
|-
| [[Columbia-Moses language|Columbia]] (Sinkiuse) || ''Nxaảmxcín'' || [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] || 17 || —
|-
| [[Atsugewi language|Atsugewi]] || ''Atsugé'' || [[Palaihnihan languages|Palaihnihan]] || 15 || —
|-
| [[Colorado River Numic language|Chemehuevi]] ||data-sort-value="Nuwuvi"| ''Nüwüvi'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 15 || —
|-
|[[Abenaki language|Abenaki]]
|—
|[[Algic languages|Algic]]
|14
|—
|-
| [[Northern Paiute language|Northern Paiute]] || ''Numu'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 12 || —
|-
| [[Dena'ina language|Dena'ina]] (Tanaina) || ''Dena’ina qenaga'' || [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] || 11 || —
|-
| [[Cupeño language|Cupeño]] || ''Kupangaxwicham'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 11 || —
|-
| [[Nuu-chah-nulth language|Nuu-chah-nulth]] (Nootka) ||data-sort-value="Nuucaanul"| ''Nuučaan̓uł'' || [[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]] || 10 || —
|-
|[[Pawnee language|Pawnee]]
|''Chatiks si chatiks''
|[[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]]
|10
|
|-
|[[Arikara language|Arikara]]
|''Sanish''
|[[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]]
|10
|
|-
| [[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]] (Gulf Yupik) || ''Sugpiaq'' || [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut]] || 8 || —
|-
| [[Kansa language|Kansa]] ||data-sort-value="Kanza"| ''Káⁿza'' || [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] || 7 || —
|-
| [[Siuslaw language|Siuslaw]] ||data-sort-value="Saayusla"| ''Šáayušła'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 6 || —
|-
| [[Cayuga language|Cayuga]] || ''Gayogo̱hó:nǫ’'' || [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] || 6 || —
|-
| [[Serrano language|Serrano]] || ''Taaqtam'' || [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] || 5 || —
|-
|[[Tübatulabal language|Tübatulabal]]
|—
|[[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]]
|5
|—
|-
| [[Yuchi language|Yuchi]] || ''Tsoyaha'' || ''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'' || 4 || —
|-
|[[Shasta language|Shasta]]
|—
|[[Shastan languages|Shastan]]
|2
|100.00%
|-
|[[Wukchumni language|Wukcumni]]
|—
|[[Yokutsan languages|Yokutsan]]
|1
|0.00%
|-
|[[Quapaw language|Quapaw]]
|—
|[[Siouan languages|Siouan]]
|1
|—
|}

====Native American sign languages====
A sign-language [[trade]] [[pidgin]], known as [[Plains Indian Sign Language]], Plains Standard or Plains Sign Talk, arose among the [[Plains Indians|Native Americans of the plains]]. Each signing nation had a separate signed version of their oral language, that was used by the hearing, and these were not mutually intelligible. Plains Standard was used to communicate between these nations. It seems to have started in Texas and then spread north, through the [[Great Plains]], as far as [[British Columbia]]. There are still a few users today, especially among the [[Crow Indians|Crow]], [[Cheyenne Indians|Cheyenne]], and [[Arapaho]]. Unlike other sign languages developed by hearing people, it shares the spatial grammar of deaf sign languages. Through intergenerational transmission, Plains Sign Talk became a working language still in use today in some Deaf First Nations or Native American communities.

As Plains Sign Talk was so widespread and was a spectrum of dialects and accents, it probably hosted several languages under its umbrella. One is potentially Navajo Sign Language which is in use by a sole Navajo clan.

Additionally, [[Plateau Sign Language]] existed alongside Plains Sign Talk as either a trade pidgin or another language around the [[Columbia Plateau]] and surrounding regions.

===Austronesian languages===
====Hawaiian====
[[File:Hawaiian USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Hawaiian language distribution in the United States.]]
[[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] is an official state language of [[Hawaii]], as prescribed in the [[Constitution of Hawaii]]. Hawaiian has an estimated 1,000 native speakers. Although it is critically endangered, the Hawaiian language is showing signs of revitalization, particularly following the [[Hawaiian Renaissance]]. Growing public interest can also be attributed to language immersion programs available through the [[Hawaii State Department of Education]] and the [[University of Hawaiʻi]], as well as to efforts by the [[Hawaii State Legislature]], [[Kamehameha Schools]], county governments, and community organizations to preserve local place-based knowledge. In 1993, about 8,000 could speak and understand Hawaiian; today, since the intervention of the state government and that of private groups promoting the language, estimates range up to 27,000.

====Samoan====
[[Samoan language|Samoan]] is an official territorial language of [[American Samoa]]. Samoans make up 90% of the population, and most people are bilingual.

====Chamorro====
[[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] is co-official in the [[Mariana Islands]], both in the territory of [[Guam]] and in the [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealth]] of the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]. In Guam, the indigenous [[Chamorro people]] make up about 60% of the population.

====Carolinian====
[[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] is also co-official in the Northern Marianas, where only 14% of people speak English at home.

==Creole languages==
Several distinct [[natural language]]s and [[pidgins]] have developed on American soil, including full languages like [[creole language|creole]] and [[sign language]]s.

=== Angloromani ===
{{Main|Angloromani language}}

[[Angloromani language|Angloromani]] is an English creole or mixed language spoken by [[Romani Americans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/US/languages|title=United States - Languages|work=Ethnologue |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Chinuk Wawa or Chinook Jargon===
{{main|Chinook Jargon}}

A [[pidgin]] of 700–800 words of French, English, Cree and other Native origins is the old trade language of the [[Pacific Northwest]]. It was used extensively among both European and Native peoples of the [[Oregon Territory]], even used instead of English at home by many [[American pioneers|pioneer families]]. It is estimated that around 100,000 people spoke it at its peak, between 1858 and 1900, and it was last widely used in [[Seattle]] just before [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite book
 | last =Jones
 | first =Nard
 | author-link =Nard Jones
 | year = 1972
 | title =Seattle
 | place =Garden City, New York
 | publisher =Doubleday
 | isbn =978-0-385-01875-3
 | page=94 ''et. seq.''
}}. Quotation is from page 97.</ref>

===Gullah===
{{main|Gullah language}}

An English creole language with African influence spoken on the [[Sea Islands]] of South Carolina and Georgia retains strong influences of West African languages. The language is sometimes referred to as "Geechee".

===Hawaiian Pidgin===
{{main|Hawaiian Pidgin}}

Hawaiian Pidgin is an English-based creole language used widely among locals in Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hwc|title=Hawaii Pidgin|work=Ethnologue (Free All) |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Louisiana Creole French===
{{main|Louisiana Creole}}

A [[French-based creole languages|French Creole]] language spoken by the [[Louisiana Creole people]] of the state of [[Louisiana]], close to [[Haitian Creole]], [[Colonial French]], and [[Cajun French]] (language of Acadians deported from [[Nouvelle France|New France]] after 1755 and the [[Expulsion of the Acadians|Grand Dérangement]]).
[[French-based creole languages|French Creole]] languages are spoken by millions of people worldwide, mainly in the United States, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean areas.

===U.S. Virgin Islands Creole Dutch (extinct)===
{{main|Negerhollands}}

[[File:Map of USVI.png|thumb|[[U.S. Virgin Islands]]]]
Negerhollands ('Negro-Dutch') was a Dutch-based creole language that was spoken in the Danish West Indies, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dutch was its superstrate language with Danish, English, French, Spanish, and African elements incorporated. Notwithstanding its name, Negerhollands drew primarily from the Zeelandic rather than the Hollandic dialect of Dutch.<ref>{{harvnb|van Rossem|van der Voort|1996|p=1}}</ref>

==Sign languages==
[[File:US & Canada sign-language map (excl. ASL and LSQ).png|right|thumb|upright=1.5|Attested historical ranges of sign languages of the US and Canada excluding [[American Sign Language|ASL]] and [[Quebec Sign Language|LSQ]].
{{Legend|#A4486D|[[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign Talk]]}}
{{Legend|#50C9FF |[[Inuit Sign Language|Inuiuuk (ᐃᓄᐃᐆᒃ)]]}}
{{Legend|#80AA48 |[[Hawaii Sign Language|Hawai'i Sign Language]]}}
{{Legend|#316FDE |[[Maritime Sign Language]]}}
{{Legend|#E4CD01 |''[[Plateau Sign Language]]''}}
{{Legend|#7B209F |''[[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]]''}}
{{Legend|#553D00 |''[[Henniker Sign Language]]''}}
{{Legend|#E22402 |''[[Sandy River Valley Sign Language]]''}}
]]
{{See also|Languages of the United States#Native American sign languages|l1=Native American sign languages}}

Alongside the numerous and varied oral languages, the United States also boasts several sign languages. Historically, the US was home to some six or more sign languages (that number rising with the probability that Plains Sign Talk is actually a language family with several languages under its umbrella) which has fallen with the death of several of these.

As with all sign languages around the world that developed organically, these are full languages distinct from any oral language. American Sign Language (unlike [[Signed English]]) is not a derivation of English.<ref name="EthnologueASL">{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=M. Paul|title=American Sign Language|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ase|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition|publisher=SIL International |editor1-first=Gary F.|editor1-last=Simons|editor2-first=Charles D.|editor2-last=Fennig|year=2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309193816/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ase|archive-date=March 9, 2013}}</ref> Some languages present here were [[trade]] [[pidgin]]s which were used first as a system of communication across national and linguistic boundaries of the Native Americans, however, they have since developed into mature languages as children learned them as a first language.

===American Sign Language===
'''[[American Sign Language]]''' (ASL) is the native language of a number of [[deaf]] and hearing people in America (roughly 100,000 to 500,000). While some sources have stated that ASL is the third most frequently used language in the United States, after English and Spanish,<ref name=preston1995p243>{{Citation|author=Paul Preston|title=Mother father deaf: living between sound and silence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l-q_qaxGTJUC|year=1995|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-58748-9|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=l-q_qaxGTJUC&pg=PA243 243]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102091443/https://books.google.com/books?id=l-q_qaxGTJUC|archive-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> recent scholarship has pointed out that most of these estimates are based on numbers conflating deafness with ASL use, and that the last actual study of this (in 1972) seems to indicate an upper bound of 500,000 ASL speakers at the time.<ref name=gallaudet2006>{{Citation|last1=Mitchell |first1=Ross E. |last2=Young |first2=Travas A. |last3=Bachleda |first3=Bellamie |last4=Karchmer |first4=Michael A. |title=How Many People Use ASL in the United States? Why Estimates Need Updating |journal=Sign Language Studies |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=306–335 |year=2006 |url=http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/deafservices/ASL_Users.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604191021/https://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/deafservices/ASL_Users.pdf |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |doi=10.1353/sls.2006.0019 |s2cid=146557236}}</ref>

*[[Black American Sign Language]] (BASL) developed in the southeastern United States, where separate residential schools were maintained for white and black deaf children. BASL shares much of the same vocabulary and grammatical structure as ASL and is generally considered one of its dialects.<ref name="EthnologueASL" /><ref name=preston1995p243 /><ref>{{Citation|author-link1=Clayton Valli|author-link2=Ceil Lucas|author1=Clayton Valli |author2=Ceil Lucas|title=Linguistics of American Sign Language: an introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfS3GlTLAUMC |year=2000 |publisher=Gallaudet University Press|isbn=978-1-56368-097-7|pages=416–428|chapter=Sociolinguistic Aspects of the Black deaf Community |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfS3GlTLAUMC&pg=PA416|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102091443/https://books.google.com/books?id=mfS3GlTLAUMC|archive-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref>

===Hawaiʻi Sign Language===
'''[[Hawaiʻi Sign Language]]''' is moribund with only a handful of speakers on [[Oʻahu]], [[Lānaʻi]], [[Kauaʻi]] and possibly [[Niʻihau]]. Some of these speakers may actually be speaking a creolized version of HSL and ASL, however; research is slow-going. The language was once called Hawaiʻi Pidgin Sign Language, as many people thought it was a derivative of ASL, but it was discovered to be a separate language altogether.<ref name="LambrechtEarthWoodward">{{citation|last1=Lambrecht|first1=Linda|title=History and Documentation of Hawaiʻi Sign Language: First Report |date=March 3, 2013|url=http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/icldc/2013/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322023259/https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ICLDC/2013/ |place=University of Hawaiʻi|publisher=3rd International Conference on Language Documentation and Conservation|archive-date=March 22, 2013|last2=Earth|first2=Barbara|last3=Woodward|first3=James|url-status=dead}}<!-- As of 2013-03-13, materials from this presentation have not yet been posted on the ICLDC3 website, but are due to be posted soon, so I've created the reference with a generic link to the conference under the assumption that we'll soon have a specific link to the presentation's PowerPoint. -AlbertBickford --></ref>

===Plains Sign Talk===
Once a trade pidgin and the most far-reaching sign language in North America, '''[[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign Talk]]''' or '''Plains Sign Language''' is now critically endangered with an unknown number of speakers.

*Navajo Sign Language has been found to be in use in one clan of [[Navajo people|Navajo]]; however, whether it is a dialect of Plains Sign Talk or a separate language remains unknown.<ref name=Supalla>Samuel J. Supalla (1992) ''The Book of Name Signs'', page 22</ref>
*Plateau Sign Language is another trade pidgin that may have become a separate language, '''[[Plateau Sign Language]]''' replaced Plains Sign Talk in the [[Columbia Plateau]] and surrounding regions of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is now extinct.

===Martha's Vineyard Sign Language===
'''[[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]]''' is now extinct. Along with [[French Sign Language]], it was one of several main contributors to American Sign Language.

===Henniker Sign Language===
'''[[Henniker Sign Language]]''' is now extinct but was once found around the [[Henniker, New Hampshire|Henniker]] region of New Hampshire and formed a basis for American Sign Language.

===Sandy River Valley Sign Language===
'''[[Sandy River Valley Sign Language]]''' is now extinct but once could be found around the Sandy River Valley in Maine. It was one of several main contributors to American Sign Language.

==Immigrant languages==
===Arabic===
{{Main|Arabic language in the United States}}

The Arabic language is spoken by immigrants from the [[Middle East]] as well as many [[Islam in the United States|Muslim Americans]]. The highest concentrations of native Arabic speakers reside in heavily urban areas like [[Chicago]], [[New York City]], and [[Los Angeles]]. [[Detroit]] and the surrounding areas of Michigan boast a significant Arabic-speaking population including many [[Arab Christians]] of Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian and Palestinian descent.

Arabic is used for religious purposes by Muslim Americans and by some Arab Christians (notably [[Catholics]] of the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite]] and [[Maronite]] Churches as well as Rum Orthodox, i.e. [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Antiochian Orthodox Christians]] and [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]] churches.). A significant number of educated Arab professionals who immigrate often already know English quite well, as it is widely used in the Middle East. Lebanese immigrants also have a broader understanding of French as do many Arabic-speaking immigrants from [[North Africa]].<ref name="British Council">[https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/english-soft-skills-maghreb-research-report.pdf ENGLISH AND SOFT SKILLS IN THE MAGHREB, 2016]." ''[[British Council]]''. page 45. Retrieved on 17 February 2024.</ref><ref name=PCGN2>"[http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Algeria-Language%20and%20Toponymy-2003.pdf ALGERIA Language & Toponymy How politically driven language policies have impeded toponymic progress]." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20121003195714/http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Algeria-Language%20and%20Toponymy-2003.pdf Archive]) [[Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use]]. page 2. Retrieved on 12 March 2013. "Yet Arabic is rarely heard in Kabylie, where Berber and French are spoken"</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/La_francophonie_dans_le_monde_2006-2007.pdf |title= Christian Valantin (sous la dir. de), ''La Francophonie dans le monde. 2006-2007'', éd. Nathan, Paris, 2007, page 16 |language= fr |access-date= 2011-03-05 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121224074425/http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/La_francophonie_dans_le_monde_2006-2007.pdf |archive-date= 2012-12-24 |url-status= dead}}&nbsp;{{small|(5.58&nbsp;MB)}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Bahous |first1=Rima |last2=Bacha |first2=Nahla Nola |last3=Nabhani |first3=Mona |date=9 December 2011 |title=Multilingual educational trends and practices in Lebanon: A case study |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11159-011-9250-8 |journal=International Review of Education |volume=57 |issue=5–6 |pages=5 |doi=10.1007/s11159-011-9250-8 |bibcode=2011IREdu..57..737B |issn=0020-8566|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Czech===
====Texas Czech====
12,805 [[Demographics of Texas|Texans]] can speak the [[Czech language]].<ref name="usefoundation">{{cite web |url=http://www.usefoundation.org/userdata/file/Research/Languages/czech.pdf |title=Czech language |publisher=[[U.S. English (organization)|U.S. English]] |access-date=2013-05-11 |archive-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304193742/http://www.usefoundation.org/userdata/file/Research/Languages/czech.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Drawing on Boas's model for interviewing speakers of the language and digitally cataloging the dialects, John Tomecek founded and Lida Cope of East Carolina University developed the Texas Czech Legacy Project at the University of Texas at Austin to document and preserve the dwindling language.<ref name = "utaustin2010">{{Cite web
| title = Vanishing Voices: Linguists work with remaining speakers of dying languages to preserve cultural memories
| work = University of Texas at Austin
| access-date = 2013-06-02
| date = 2010-01-11
| url = https://www.utexas.edu/features/2010/01/11/dying_languages/
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=2006 KJT Website Homepage |access-date=2013-06-02 |url=http://www.kjtnet.org/Culture.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113065845/http://www.kjtnet.org/Culture.htm |archive-date=January 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
| last = Cope
| first = Lida
| title = Creating a Digital Archive of Texas Czech: Applied Documentation for the Community, Education, and Research
| access-date = 2013-06-02
| url = http://www.aatseel.org/100111/pdf/4b9_2_cope.pdf
}}</ref>
Because the majority of Texas immigrants came from Moravia, the Czech spoken in Texas is largely characterized by Moravian dialects ([[Lach dialects|Lachian]] and [[Moravian dialects#Eastern Moravian|Moravian Wallachian]]) which vary to some extent from the Bohemian dialects spoken by most Czech-Americans. Czech-language journalism has been very active in the state over the years. Thirty-three newspapers and periodicals have been published. As of 1993 one weekly newspaper, ''Našinec'', published at [[Granger, Texas|Granger]], and one monthly, ''Hospodář'', published at [[West, Texas|West]], were still being published entirely in Czech. Other periodicals such as ''Věstník'' and the ''Brethren Journal'' contained sections printed in Czech.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book
| publisher = Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
| last = Machann
| first = Clinton
| title = The Handbook of Texas Online
| chapter = CZECHS
| access-date = 2013-06-02
| chapter-url = http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/plc02
}}</ref>

===Finnish===
[[File:Finnish USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Finnish language distribution in the United States.]]
The first Finnish settlers in America were amongst the settlers who came from Sweden and Finland to the [[New Sweden]] colony. Most colonists were Finnish. However, the Finnish language was not preserved as well among subsequent generations as Swedish.

Between the 1890s and the outbreak of the first World War, an estimated quarter million [[Finnish citizen]]s immigrated to the United States, mainly in rural areas of the [[Midwest]] and more specifically in the mining regions of Northeastern Minnesota, Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's [[Upper Peninsula]]. [[Hancock, Michigan]], as of 2005, still incorporates bi-lingual street signs written in both English and Finnish.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carlisle |first=John |title=Fortitude, tradition help Finns flourish in brutal U.P. |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/john-carlisle/2014/08/23/john-carlisle-fortitude-tradition-help-finns-flourish-in-brutal-up/14501869/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=[[Detroit Free Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Michigan HR0007 {{!}} 2017-2018 {{!}} 99th Legislature |url=https://legiscan.com/MI/text/HR0007/id/1456169 |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=LegiScan |language=en}}</ref> [[Finnish American|Americans of Finnish origin]] yield at 800,000 individuals, though only 26,000 speak the language at home. There is a distinctive dialect of English to be found in the Upper Peninsula, known as [[Yooper dialect|Yooper]]. Yooper often has a Finnish cadence and uses Finnish sentence structure with modified English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish vocabulary.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}
Notable Finnish Americans include U.S. Communist Party leader [[Gus Hall]], film director [[Renny Harlin]], and the Canadian-born actress [[Pamela Anderson]].

Northern Clark County, Washington (encompassing Yacolt, Amboy, Battle Ground and Chelatchie) contains a large exclave of [[Old Apostolic Lutheran Church|Old Apostolic Lutherans]] who originally immigrated from Finland. Many families in this portion of the county speak fluent Finnish at home before learning English.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} Another noteworthy Finnish community in the United States is found in [[Lake Worth Beach, Florida]], north of Miami.

===Hebrew===
Modern Hebrew is spoken by Israeli immigrants. Liturgical Hebrew is used as a religious or liturgical language<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eric L. Friedland|title=Hebrew Liturgical Creativity in Nineteenth-Century America|journal=Modern Judaism|volume=1|issue=3|pages=323–336|jstor=1396251 |year=1981|doi=10.1093/mj/1.3.323}}</ref> by many of the United States' approximately 7 million Jews.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brandeis University Study Finds that American-Jewish Population is Significantly Larger than Previously Thought|date=February 2, 2007 |url=http://download.2164.net/PDF-newsletters/jewishpopulation.pdf|access-date=November 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002122538/http://download.2164.net/PDF-newsletters/jewishpopulation.pdf|archive-date=October 2, 2013}}</ref>

===Gaelic Languages===
{{further|Goidelic languages}}

About 40 million Americans have Irish ancestry, many of whose ancestors would have spoken [[Irish language|Irish Gaelic]]. In 2013, around 20,600 Americans spoke Irish at home and as of 2008 it was the 76th most spoken language in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=Language Use in the US 2006–2008 (850k Excel file!)|url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=June 23, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622082540/http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls|archive-date=June 22, 2011}}</ref> An additional 1,600 spoke Scottish Gaelic.<ref name="census.gov">{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html|title=Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2009-2013|website=Census.gov}}</ref>

===Italian, Sicilian and Neapolitan===
{{Main|Italian language in the United States}}

[[File:Italian USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|right|Current distribution of the Italian language in the United States.]]
The [[Italian language]] and other [[Italo-Dalmatian languages]] have been widely spoken in the United States for more than one hundred years, primarily due to large-scale immigration from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century.

In addition to Italian learned by most people today, there has been a strong representation of the languages of Southern Italy amongst the immigrant population ([[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] and [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]] in particular). As of 2009, though 15,638,348 American citizens report themselves as Italian-Americans, only 753,992 of these report speaking the Italian language at home (0.3264% of the US population).

===Khmer (Cambodian)===
{{main|Cambodian Americans}}

Between 1981 and 1985 about 150,000 Cambodians resettled in the United States.<ref>[http://www.apiahf.org/resources/pdf/Cambodians_in_the_United_States.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325111513/http://www.apiahf.org/resources/pdf/Cambodians_in_the_United_States.pdf|date=March 25, 2009}}</ref> Before 1975 very few Cambodians came to the United States. Those who did were children of upper-class families sent abroad to attend school. After the [[fall of Phnom Penh]] to the communist Khmer Rouge in 1975, some Cambodians managed to escape. In 2007 the American Community Survey reported that there were approximately 200,000 Cambodians living in the United States, making up about 2% percent of the Asian population. This population is, however, heavily concentrated in two areas: the [[Los Angeles metropolitan area]] in California, especially the city of [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]]; and [[Greater Boston]] in [[New England]], especially [[Lowell, Massachusetts]]. These two areas hold a majority of the Cambodians living in the US.

===Korean===
{{further|Korean language education in the United States}}
In 2011 over 1.1 million Americans spoke [[Korean language|Korean]] at home. This number increased greatly at the end of the 20th century, increasing 327% from the 300,000 speakers in 1980. The greatest concentration of these speakers was in the [[Los Angeles metropolitan area|Los Angeles]], [[New York metropolitan area|New York]], and [[Washington metropolitan area|Washington D.C.]] metro areas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2013/cb13-r91.html|title=More Than 1 Million U.S. Residents Speak Korean at Home|website=The United States Census Bureau|language=EN-US|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref> Most notably, speakers of Korean are found in the so-called [[Koreatown]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kim |first=Simon C. |date=2019 |title=Korean Americans and the Changing Face of Twentieth-Century Catholic Immigration |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45186169 |journal=[[U.S. Catholic Historian]] |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=77-98 |access-date=5 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Chu |first=Amanda |date=8 December 2024 |title=As South Korean investment grows, so do ‘Koreatowns’ |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d03d7de9-9b79-4c87-91f7-faab9ba3a245 |website=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=5 October 2025}}</ref>

===Polish and Silesian===
As of 2013, around 580,000 Americans spoke Polish at home.<ref name="census.gov"/> The [[Polish language]] is very common in the [[Chicago metropolitan area]]. Chicago's third largest [[white ethnic]] groups are those of Polish descent, after German and Irish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_5YR_B04006&prodType=table |title=American FactFinder - Results |access-date=July 27, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214060657/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_5YR_B04006&prodType=table |archive-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> The [[Polish people]] and the Polish language in Chicago were very prevalent in the early years of the city, and today the 650,000 Poles in [[Chicago]] make up one of the largest ethnically [[Polish diaspora|Polish populations in the world]], comparable to the city of [[Wrocław]], the fourth largest city in Poland. That makes it one of the most important centers of [[Polish diaspora|Polonia]] and the Polish language in the United States, a fact that the city celebrates every Labor Day weekend at the Taste of Polonia Festival in [[Jefferson Park, Chicago|Jefferson Park]].<ref>{{Citation
 |url          = http://www.usaweekend.com/05_issues/050515/050515travel_diverse.html#chicago
 |archive-url  = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171228210650/http://www.usaweekend.com/#chicago
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = December 28, 2017
 |title        = America the diverse: Chicago's Polish neighborhoods
 |publisher    = usaweekend.com
 |date         = May 15, 2005
 |access-date  = July 4, 2008
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref>

====Texas Silesian====
{{further|Texas Silesian}}
[[Texas Silesian]], a dialect of the [[Silesian language]] (itself controversially considered a branch of Polish by some linguists), has been used by Texas [[Silesians]] in American settlements from 1852 to the present.

===Portuguese===
{{further|Portuguese Americans|Brazilian Americans|Cape Verdean Americans}}

The first Portuguese speakers in America were [[Portuguese Jews]] who had fled the [[Portuguese Inquisition]]. They spoke [[Judeo-Portuguese]] and founded the earliest Jewish communities in the [[Thirteen Colonies]], two of which still exist: [[Congregation Shearith Israel]] in New York and [[Congregation Mikveh Israel]] in Philadelphia. However, by the end of the 18th century, their use of Portuguese had been replaced by English.

In the late 19th century, many Portuguese, mainly [[Azorean]]s, [[Madeiran]]s and [[Cape Verdeans]] (who prior to independence in 1975 were Portuguese citizens), immigrated to the United States, settling in cities like [[Providence, Rhode Island]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts]], and [[Santa Cruz, California]]. There was also substantial [[Portuguese immigration to Hawaii]] to supplement plantation labor.

In the mid-late 20th century there was another wave of Portuguese immigration to the US, mainly the Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts), and for a time [[History of the Lusophone Americans in Newark, New Jersey|Portuguese became a major language in Newark, New Jersey]]. Many Portuguese Americans may include descendants of Portuguese settlers born in [[Portuguese-speaking African countries|Portuguese Africa]] (known as [[Portuguese Africans]], or, in Portugal, as ''[[retornados]]'') and Asia (mostly [[Macau]]). There were around 1 million [[Portuguese American]]s in the United States by 2000. Portuguese ([[European Portuguese]]) has been spoken in the United States by small communities of immigrants, mainly in the metropolitan New York City area, like [[Newark, New Jersey]].

The Portuguese language is also spoken widely by [[Brazilian Americans]], concentrated in Miami, New York City, and Boston.

===Swedish===
[[File:Swedish USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Swedish language distribution in the United States.]]
There has been a Swedish presence in America since the [[New Sweden]] colony came into existence in March 1638.

Widespread diaspora of [[Swedish emigration to the United States|Swedish immigration]] did not occur until the latter half of the 19th century, bringing in a total of a million Swedes. No other country had a higher percentage of its people leave for the United States except Ireland and Norway. At the beginning of the 20th century, Minnesota had the highest ethnic Swedish population in the world after the city of [[Stockholm]].

3.7% of US residents claim descent from Scandinavian ancestors, amounting to roughly 11–12 million people. According to SIL's Ethnologue, over half a million ethnic Swedes still speak the language, though according to the 2007 American Community Survey only 56,715 speak it at home. [[Cultural assimilation]] has contributed to the gradual and steady decline of the language in the US. After the independence of the US from the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], the government encouraged colonists to adopt the English language as a common medium of communication, and in some cases, imposed it upon them. Subsequent generations of Swedish Americans received education in English and spoke it as their first language. Lutheran churches scattered across the Midwest started abandoning Swedish in favor of English as their language of worship. Swedish newspapers and publications alike slowly faded away.

There are sizable Swedish communities in Minnesota, Ohio, Maryland, Philadelphia, and Delaware, along with small isolated pockets in Pennsylvania, San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale, and New York. Chicago once contained a large Swedish enclave called [[Andersonville, Chicago|Andersonville]] on the city's north side.

[[John Morton (American politician)|John Morton]], the person who cast the decisive vote leading to Pennsylvania's support for the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], was of Finnish descent. Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden in the 18th century.

===Walloon===
====Wisconsin Walloon====
{{Main|Wisconsin Walloon}}

[[Wisconsin Walloon]] is a dialect of the [[Walloon language]] brought to Wisconsin from [[Wallonia]], Belgium's largely French-speaking region. It is spoken in the [[Door Peninsula]] of Wisconsin, United States.{{Sfn|Biers|Osterhaus|2021|p=1}}

The speakers of Wisconsin Walloon are descendants of [[Belgian Americans|Belgian immigrants]] from a wave of immigration lasting from 1853 to 1857. It includes around 2,000 Belgians who immigrated to Wisconsin.<ref name="UT Arlington">{{cite web |last1=Tinkler |first1=Jacqueline |title=The Walloon Immigrants of Northeast Wisconsin: An Examination of Ethnic Retention |url=https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/11844/Tinkler_uta_2502M_12187.pdf |website=University of Texas Arlington Libraries Research Commons |access-date=28 May 2022}}</ref> Walloon is sometimes referred to by its speakers as "Belgian".{{Sfn|Biers|Osterhaus|2021|p=2}} The descendants of native Walloon speakers have since switched to English, and as of 2021, Walloon has fewer than 50 speakers in the United States.{{Sfn|Biers|Osterhaus|2021|p=1}}

===Welsh===
{{further|Welsh language}}
[[File:Welsh USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Welsh language distribution in the United States.]]
Up to two million Americans are thought to have Welsh ancestry. However, there is very little [[Welsh language|Welsh]] being used commonly in the United States. According to the 2007 American Community Survey, 2,285 people speak Welsh at home; primarily spoken in California (415), Florida (225), New York (204), Ohio (135), and New Jersey (130).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&mode=lang_tops&SRVY_YEAR=2000&lang_id=633|title=Welsh : Source: Census 2000, Summary File 3 |publisher=Mla.org|access-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112758/http://www.mla.org/map_data_results%26mode%3Dlang_tops%26SRVY_YEAR%3D2000%26lang_id%3D633|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref> Some place names, such as [[Bryn Mawr Historic District|Bryn Mawr in Chicago]] and [[Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania]] ({{langx|en|Big Hill}}) are Welsh. Several towns in Pennsylvania, mostly in the [[Welsh Tract]], have Welsh namesakes, including [[Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania|Uwchlan]], [[Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania|Bala Cynwyd]], [[Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania|Gwynedd]], and [[Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania|Tredyffrin]].

===Tagalog===
[[File:Tagalog USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Distribution of U.S. households that speak Tagalog at home]]
Tagalog speakers were already present in the United States as early as the late sixteenth century as sailors contracted by the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonial government]]. In the eighteenth century, they established settlements in Louisiana, such as [[Saint Malo, Louisiana|Saint Malo]]. After the [[Philippine–American War|American annexation of the Philippines]], the number of Tagalog speakers steadily increased, as Filipinos began to migrate to the U.S. as students or contract laborers. Their numbers, however, decreased upon [[Republic Day (Philippines)|Philippine independence]], as some Filipinos were [[Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935|repatriated]].

Today, Tagalog, together with its standardized form [[Filipino language|Filipino]], is spoken by over a million and a half Filipino Americans and is promoted by Filipino American civic organizations and Philippine consulates. As Filipinos are the second largest Asian ethnic group in the United States, Tagalog is the second most spoken [[Asian language]] in the country, after [[chinese language|Chinese]]. [[Taglish]], a form of [[code-switching]] between Tagalog and English, is also spoken by a number of Filipino Americans.

Tagalog is also taught at some universities where a significant number of Filipinos exist. As it is the national and most spoken language of the Philippines, most Filipinos in the United States are proficient in Tagalog in addition to their local regional language.

===Vietnamese===
{{main|Vietnamese language in the United States}}

[[File:Vietnamese USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|right|Vietnamese language distribution in the United States]]
According to the [[United States 2010 census|2010 census]], there are over 1.5 million Americans who identify themselves as Vietnamese in origin, ranking fourth among the Asian American groups and forming the largest [[Overseas Vietnamese]] population.

[[Orange County, California]], is home to the largest concentration of ethnic Vietnamese outside Vietnam, especially in its [[Little Saigon]] area. Other significant Vietnamese communities are found in the metropolitan areas of [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], [[Houston]], [[Dallas-Fort Worth]], [[Seattle]], [[Northern Virginia]], and New Orleans. Similarly to other overseas Vietnamese communities in Western countries (except France), the Vietnamese population in the United States was established following the [[Fall of Saigon]] in 1975 and communist takeover of South Vietnam following the [[Vietnam War]].

===South Asian languages===
There are many South Asians in the United States. These include Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, who speak various South Asian languages. Major [[Languages of South Asia|South Asian languages]] spoken in the US include [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (see "Telugu" below), [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]] (see "Tamil" below), [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]] (see "Hindi-Urdu" below), [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]] (see "Nepali" below), and [[Marathi language|Marathi]].

====Hindi and Urdu====
{{Main|Hindustani language}}

[[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]] are the two standard registers of the Hindustani language, an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] language native to [[Hindi Belt|North India]], [[Deccan Plateau|Central India]], and Pakistan. While the formal registers draw vocabulary from Sanskrit and Arabic & Persian respectively, the colloquial forms are indistinguishable. Hindi and Urdu are widely spoken among the Indian and Pakistani communities in the United States as a first or second language. Speakers are concentrated in states with large South Asian populations, including California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results |website=American FactFinder |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk#none |publisher=U. S. Census Bureau |access-date=2019-08-30|archive-date=July 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714212254/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk#none|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Additionally, Hindi-Urdu (Hindustani) is a cultural language for many South Asians who have different mother tongues and dialects. Bollywood in particular, as well as film music, is an important cultural product that influences many South Asian youth. Some South Indians, Bangladeshis, and Indian Bengalis learn the language or its dialects through films.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shankar|first=Shalini|date=2008|title=Speaking like a Model Minority: "FOB" Styles, Gender, and Racial Meanings among Desi Teens in Silicon Valley|journal=Journal of Linguistic Anthropology|language=en|volume=18|issue=2|pages=268–289|doi=10.1111/j.1548-1395.2008.00022.x}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shankar|first=Shalini|title=Reel to real|date=2010|journal=Pragmatics|volume=14|issue=2–3|pages=317–335|doi=10.1075/prag.14.2-3.12sha|doi-access=free}}</ref>

====Nepali====
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2017}}
The first Nepalese to enter the United States were classified as "other Asian". Immigration records show that between 1881 and 1890, 1,910 "other Asians" were admitted to the United States. However, Nepal did not open its borders until 1950, and most Nepalis who left the country during that time went primarily to India to study. Nepalese Americans were first classified as a separate ethnic group in 1974 when 56 Nepalese immigrated to the United States. New York City, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Columbus, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Erie, Harrisburg, Chicago, Denver, [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]], Portland, and Saint Paul have the largest number of Nepalese. There are some Nepalese community or cultural events in every American state, including [[Dashain]], [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar]], [[Holi]], [[Teej]] Special, and [[Nepali New Year]].

====Tamil====
The Tamil community in the United States is largely bilingual. Tamil is taught in weekly classes in many Hindu temples and by associations such as the American Tamil Academy in South Brunswick, Tamil Jersey School in Jersey City, New Jersey,<ref>See [http://ns.gmnews.com/news/2014-09-04/Front_Page/School_offers_Tamil_language_classes.html "School offers Tamil language classes" ''Sentinel'' Sept. 4, 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315035938/http://ns.gmnews.com/news/2014-09-04/Front_Page/School_offers_Tamil_language_classes.html |date=March 15, 2016}}</ref>

The written form of the language is highly formal and quite distinct from the spoken form. A few universities, such as the University of Chicago and the University of California Berkeley, have graduate programs in the language.<ref>Vasudha Narayanan, "Tamils" in David Levinson and Melvin Ember, eds. ''American immigrant cultures: builders of a nation'' (1997). page 878.</ref>

In the second half of the 20th century, Tamils from India migrated as skilled professionals to the United States, Canada, Europe, and [[Southeast Asia]]. The Tamil American population numbers over 195,685 individuals,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls|title=US Census 2006-2008 American Community Survey See Row# 125}}</ref> and the [[Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America]] functions as an [[umbrella organization]] for the growing community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fetna.org/index.php/2011-12-22-02-18-20/2011-12-22-02-21-42|title=About FETNA|publisher=Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America|access-date=April 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116211514/http://www.fetna.org/index.php/2011-12-22-02-18-20/2011-12-22-02-21-42|archive-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref>

The New York City and Los Angeles metropolitan areas are home to the largest concentrations of Tamil-speaking [[Sri Lankan American]]s.<ref name=LPR12>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-legal-permanent-residents |title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2|publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|access-date=March 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403073333/http://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-legal-permanent-residents |archive-date=April 3, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=LPR11>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/LPR11.shtm |title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 2 |publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|access-date=March 31, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808080130/http://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/LPR11.shtm|archive-date=August 8, 2012}}</ref><ref name=LPR10>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/LPR10.shtm|title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2 |publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|access-date=March 31, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712200141/https://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/LPR10.shtm|archive-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref> New York City's [[Staten Island]] alone is estimated to be home to more than 5,000 Sri Lankan Americans,<ref name="SriLankansStatenIsland">{{cite news |author=Kirk Semple |date=June 8, 2013 |title=Sri Lankans have gathered on Staten Island,... |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/09/nyregion/new-york-citys-newest-immigrant-enclaves.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005001531/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/09/nyregion/new-york-citys-newest-immigrant-enclaves.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |access-date=June 9, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> one of the largest Sri Lankan populations outside Sri Lanka itself,<ref name=lankasrilittle>{{cite web |title=Why Staten Island? |publisher=Little Sri Lanka |url=http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/lankasrilittle/gallery/ |access-date=July 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726083820/http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/lankasrilittle/gallery/ |archive-date=July 26, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and a significant proportion of whom speak Tamil.

[[File:Top of Rock Cropped.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|The [[Indians in the New York City metropolitan region|New York City Metropolitan Area]], including [[Central Jersey|Central]] New Jersey] as well as [[Long Island]] and [[Staten Island]] in New York, is home to the largest [[Tamil American]] population.]]

[[Central Jersey|Central New Jersey]] is home to the largest population concentration of Tamils. New Jersey houses its own [[Tamil Sangam]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100902115102/http://www.njtamilsangam.info/ New Jersey Tamil Sangam<!-- Bot generated title -->]}}</ref> Sizeable populations of Indian American Tamils have also settled in the [[New York metropolitan area|New York City]] and [[Washington metropolitan area|Washington]] metropolitan areas, as well as on the West Coast in Silicon Valley, where there are Tamil associations such as the Bay Area Tamil Mandram.<ref name="Bay">{{Cite web |title=Introduction|website=Bay Area Tamil Manram |url=http://www.bayareatamilmanram.org/eng/introduction.php |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027163310/http://www.bayareatamilmanram.org/eng/introduction.php|url-status=dead |archivedate=October 27, 2010}}</ref>

====Telugu====
{{See also|Telugu Americans}}

There were {{sigfig|171495|3}} speakers of [[Telugu language|Telugu]] in 2006–2008.<ref>{{cite web| title = Table 1. Detailed Languages Spoken at Home| url = https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604062111/http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls| archive-date=June 4, 2011| url-status = dead}}</ref>
In the second half of the 20th century, Telugu people from India (especially from [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Telangana]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Tamil Nadu]]) migrated as professionals to the United States. [[Central Jersey|Central New Jersey]] is home to the largest population concentration of Telugu people. Telugu people have also settled in New York City and the [[DC metropolitan area]], as well as on the West Coast in Silicon Valley. The New York City and Los Angeles metropolitan areas are home to the largest concentrations of Telugu-speakers.

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Languages}}
*[[American English]]
*[[Executive Order 14224]] ("Designating English as the Official Language of the United States"), executive order issued by President Donald Trump in 2025
*[[Language education in the United States]]
*[[Language Spoken at Home (U.S. census)|Language Spoken at Home]]
*[[List of multilingual presidents of the United States]]
*[[Muhlenberg legend]]
*[[List of U.S. communities where English is not the majority language spoken at home]]
*[[Modern Language Association]]

'''General:'''
*[[Bilingual education]]
*[[Culture of the United States]]
*[[Languages of Canada]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite journal |last1=Biers |first1=Kelly |last2=Osterhaus |first2=Ellen |date=2021 |title=Notes from the Field: Wisconsin Walloon Documentation and Orthography |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/24968/3/biers_osterhaus.pdf |journal=Language Documentation and Conservation |volume=15 |pages=1–29}}
*Campbell, Lyle. (1997). ''American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press.
*Campbell, Lyle; & Mithun, Marianne (Eds.). (1979). ''The languages of native America: Historical and comparative assessment''. Austin: University of Texas Press.
*{{wikicite |ref={{harvid|Grimes|2000}} |reference=Grimes, Barbara F. (Ed.). (2000). ''Ethnologue: Languages of the world'', (14th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. {{ISBN|1-55671-106-9}}.}} Online edition: [http://www.ethnologue.com/ the world], accessed on December 7, 2004.
*Mithun, Marianne. (1999). ''The languages of native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*{{Cite book |last1=van Rossem |first1=C. |url=http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/ross026creo01_01/index.php |title=Die Creol Taal: 250 Years of Negerhollands Texts |last2=van der Voort |first2=H. |date=1996 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |location=Amsterdam |via=Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren}}
*Zededa, Ofelia; Hill, Jane H. (1991). The condition of Native American Languages in the United States. In R. H. Robins & E. M. Uhlenbeck (Eds.), ''Endangered languages'' (pages 135–155). Oxford: Berg.

==Further reading==
*Blatt, Ben. "[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/05/language_map_what_s_the_most_popular_language_in_your_state.html Tagalog in California, Cherokee in Arkansas]." ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''. May 13, 2014.

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040116115338/http://extensionenespanol.net/articles.cfm?articleid=19 Bilingualism in the United States]
*[https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over by State]: [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census]] 2000
*[http://www.vistawide.com/languages/us_languages.htm Foreign Languages in the U.S.] About foreign languages and language learning in the United States
*[http://www.yourdictionary.com/elr/natlang.html How many indigenous American languages are spoken in the United States? By how many speakers?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723113231/http://www.yourdictionary.com/elr/natlang.html |date=July 23, 2017}}
*[http://www.native-languages.org Native Languages of the Americas]
*[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=US Ethnologue report for the USA]
*[http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesusa/usa.htm Linguistic map of the United States of America]
*[https://apps.mla.org/map_main Modern Language Association Language Map]
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