Languages of the United States 63881 225158796 2008-07-12T05:20:02Z Kman543210 6844949 /* Official language status */ punctuation for consistency {{Cleanup|date=June 2007}} {{Languages of |country = the United States |official = ''none'' |main = [[American English]] (82%) |indigenous = [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], [[Navajo]], [[Dakota language|Dakota]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik]], [[Cherokee]], [[Western Apache]], [[Piman]], [[Choctaw]], [[Keres]], [[Zuni]], [[Ojibwe]] |minority = <!--Please don't put too many languages here-->[[Spanish language|Spanish]] 10.7%, [[French language|French]] <small>[[Cajun French]], [[Louisiana Creole French|Louisiana Creole]], [[Haitian creole]]</small>, [[German language|German]] <small>[[Pennsylvania German]]</small>, [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian languages]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] |foreign = [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]]<ref>[http://www.vistawide.com/languages/us_languages.htm Language learning trends in the United States]. Retrieved on [[2008-03-19]]</ref> |keyboard = [[QWERTY]] |keyboard image = [[Image:KB United States-NoAltGr.svg|200px]] }} The [[United States]] does not have an [[official language]], but [[English language|English]] is spoken by about 82% of the population as a native language, with a majority of English speakers being [[monolingual]]. The variety of English spoken in the United States is known as [[American English]]; together with [[Canadian English]] it makes up the group of dialects known as [[North American English]]. 96% of the population of the U.S. speaks English "well" or "very well".<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t20.html |title=Summary Tables on Language Use and English Ability: 2000 (PHC-T-20) |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> There have been several proposals to make English the national language in amendments to immigration reform bills.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00131 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session |publisher=United States Senate |accessdate=2008002-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=13429|title=Senate Amendment 1151 to Senate Bill 1348, Immigration Act of 2007|publisher=project Vote Smart|accessdate=2008-07-04}}</ref> None of these bills have become law with the amendment intact. The [[Spanish language]] is the second-most common language in the country, spoken by almost 30 million people (or 13% of the population) in 2005. In [[Puerto Rico]], both Spanish and English have the status of official language, and in New Mexico laws are published in both languages. Throughout the [[Southwestern United States]], long-established Spanish-speaking communities coexist with large numbers of more recent Spanish-speaking immigrants. The United States holds the world's fifth largest Spanish-speaking population, outnumbered only by [[Mexico]], [[Spain]], [[Argentina]], and [[Colombia]]. The [[Commonwealth (United States insular area)|Commonwealth]] of Puerto Rico is predominantly Spanish-speaking. Although many new Latin American immigrants are less than fluent in English, second-generation [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic Americans]] commonly speak English fluently, while only about half still speak Spanish.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Without assuming probable undercounting of certain other groups in the 2000 US census, people of [[German American|German ancestry]] make up the largest single ethnic group in the United States, and the [[German language]] ranks fifth. [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and [[Greek language|Greek]] 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 older generations pass away. Starting in the 1970s and continuing until the mid 1990s, many people from the [[Soviet Union]] and later its constituent republics such as [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], and [[Uzbekistan]] have immigrated to the United States, causing [[Russian language|Russian]] to become one of the minority languages in the United States. [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] have over one million speakers in the United States, almost entirely within recent immigrant populations. There is also a small population of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] who still speak their native languages, but these populations are decreasing, and the languages are almost never widely used outside of reservations. [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], although having few native speakers, is still used at the state level in [[Hawaii]] along with the English language. Likewise, Louisiana declared French an official language alongside English in 1974. Besides English, Spanish, French, German, 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. Approximately 337 languages are spoken or signed by the population, of which 176 are indigenous to the area. 52 languages formerly spoken in the country's territory are now extinct.<ref>{{Harvnb|Grimes|2000}}</ref> ==Census statistics== {| table style="border:1px #000000;" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin-left: 1em" |- ! style="background:#FF9999;" colspan="2" | '''[[Language Spoken at Home (U.S. Census)|Language Spoken At Home (2000)]]'''<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=99&mode=state_tops&order=r |title=MLA Language Map Data Center |publisher=Modern Language Association |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[English language|English only]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 82.10% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 10.71% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Chinese language|Chinese]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.61% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[French language|French]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.61% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[German language|German]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.52% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.46% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.38% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Italian language|Italian]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.38% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Korean language|Korean]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.34% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Russian language|Russian]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.26% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Polish language|Polish]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.25% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.23% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.21% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Japanese language|Japanese]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.18% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" |[[French-based creole languages|French Creole]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.17% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Greek language|Greek]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.13% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Hindi language|Hindi]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.12% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Persian language|Persian]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" |0.11% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Urdu language|Urdu]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.10% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Cantonese (linguistics)|Cantonese]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.09% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.08% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Armenian language|Armenian]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.07% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.07% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Mon-Khmer languages|Mon-Khmer]], [[Cambodian language|Cambodian]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.06% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Kru languages|Kru]], [[Igbo language|Igbo]], [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.06% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.06% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Navajo language|Navajo]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.06% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.06% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Hmong language|Hmong]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.06% |- ! style="font-size: smaller;" | [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ! style="font-size: smaller;" | 0.05% |} According to the 2000 census<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-29.pdf |title=Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000 |month=October |year=2003 |publisher=U.S. Census Brueau |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref>, the main languages by number of speakers older than 5 are: #[[English language|English]] - 215 million #[[Spanish language|Spanish]] - 28 million #[[Chinese language]]s - 2.0 million + (mostly [[Cantonese (linguistics)|Cantonese]] speakers, with a growing group of [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin]] speakers) #[[French language|French]] - 1.6 million #[[German language|German]] - 1.4 million (High German) + German dialects like [[Hutterite German]], [[Texas German]], [[Pennsylvania German language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], [[Plautdietsch]] #[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] - 1.2 million + (Most Filipinos may also know other [[Philippine languages]], e.g. [[Ilokano language|Ilokano]], [[Pangasinan language|Pangasinan]], [[Bikol languages]], and [[Visayan languages]]) #[[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] - 1.01 million #[[Italian language|Italian]] - 1.01 million #[[Korean language|Korean]] - 890,000 #[[Russian language|Russian]] - 710,000 #[[Polish language|Polish]] - 670,000 #[[Arabic language|Arabic]] - 610,000 #[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] - 560,000 #[[Japanese language|Japanese]] - 480,000 #[[French-based creole languages|French Creole]] - 450,000 (mostly [[Louisiana Creole French]] - 334,500) #[[Greek language|Greek]] - 370,000 #[[Hindi language|Hindi]] - 320,000 #[[Persian language|Persian]] - 310,000 #[[Urdu language|Urdu]] - 260,000 #[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] - 240,000 #[[Armenian language|Armenian]] - 200,000 ==Official language status== The United States does not have a national [[official language]]; nevertheless, [[English language|English]] (specifically, [[American English]]) is the primary language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements, although there are laws requiring documents such as ballots to be printed in multiple languages when there is a large number of non-English speakers in an area. Some federal legislation implicitly standardizes English.<ref>e.g. Section 1432(2) of the [[No Child Left Behind Act]], which defines the term "AT-RISK":<br />"''AT-RISK.—The term ‘at-risk’, when used with respect to a child, youth, or student, means a school aged individual who is at-risk of academic failure, has a drug or alcohol problem, is pregnant or is a parent, has come into contact with the juvenile justice system in the past, is at least 1 year behind the expected grade level for the age of the individual, '''has limited English proficiency''', is a gang member, has dropped out of school in the past, or has a high absenteeism rate at school.''" (emphasis added) (see http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/107-110.pdf)</ref> Many individual states and territories have adopted English as their official language:<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.proenglish.org/issues/offeng/states.html |title=The 50 states at a glance |publisher=proenglish.org |accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> [[Image:USA State Languages.svg|thumb|280px|Official language status of the various states.<br> {{col-begin}} {{col-break}} {{legend|#000080|English is official languages}} {{col-break}} {{legend|#800080|Two or more official languages}} {{col-break}} {{legend|#0000FF|No official language; English is de-facto language}} {{col-break}} {{legend|#FF00FF|No official language; multiple de-facto languages}} {{col-end}}]] *[[Alabama]] (1990) *[[Alaska]] (1998)<ref>Status as of April, 1998: blocked by a state judge pending trial. The case is still pending. See {{Citation |url=http://www.proenglish.org/states/alaska.htm |title= Legal Status of official English in Alaska |publisher=proenglish.org |accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> *[[Arizona]] (2006) *[[Arkansas]] (1987) *[[California]] (1986) *[[Colorado]] (1988) *[[Florida]] (1988) *[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] (1986, 1996) *[[Idaho]] (2007)<ref>[http://www.proenglish.org/states/idaho.htm Idaho Code 73-121. "Certain Documents to be in English the Official State Language."] 2007.</ref> *[[Illinois]] (1969)<ref>[http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=010500050HArt.+14C&ActID=1005&ChapAct=105%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B5%2F&ChapterID=17&ChapterName=SCHOOLS&SectionID=49138&SeqStart=108300000&SeqEnd=109800000&ActName=School%2BCode. 105 ILCS 5/14C‑1] (implicit)</ref> *[[Indiana]] (1984) *[[Iowa]] (2002)<ref>[http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2003SUPPLEMENT/1/18.html Iowa Code Sec. 1.18, "Iowa English language reaffirmation."] 2002.</ref> *[[Kansas]] (2007) *[[Kentucky]] (1984) *[[Louisiana]] (1807) *[[Massachusetts]] (1975) *[[Mississippi]] (1987) *[[Missouri]] (1998) *[[Montana]] (1995) *[[Nebraska]] (1920) *[[New Hampshire]] (1995) *[[New Jersey]] (2008) *[[North Carolina]] (1987) *[[North Dakota]] (1987) *[[South Carolina]] (1987) *[[South Dakota]] (1987) *[[Tennessee]] (1984) *[[Utah]] (2000) *[[Virginia]] (1981, 1996) *[[Wyoming]] (1996) 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 47 languages. Several states and territories are officially or ''[[de facto]]'' bi- or trilingual: *[[Hawaii]] ([[English language|English]] and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]) (1978) *[[Louisiana]] (English and [[French language|French]] legally recognized, although there is no official language) *[[New Mexico]] (English and ''de facto'' Spanish)<ref>New Mexico has a non-binding "English Plus" resolution, officially endorsing multilingualism. See {{Citation |url=http://www.proenglish.org/states/newmexico.htm |title= Language Laws of New Mexico |publisher=proenglish.org |accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> *[[Maine]] (English and French both ''de facto'') *[[American Samoa]] ([[Samoan language|Samoan]] and English) *[[Guam]] ([[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] and English) *[[Northern Mariana Islands]] (English, Chamorro, and [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]]) *[[Puerto Rico]] (Spanish and English) (1993) The state of [[New York]] had state government documents (i.e., vital records) co-written in the [[Dutch language]] until the 1920s, in order to preserve the legacy of [[New Netherlands]], though [[England]] annexed the colony in 1664.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/kingston/colonization.htm |title=Dutch Colonies |publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> [[Native American languages]] are official or co-official on many of the 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. In [[New Mexico]], although the state constitution does not specify an official language, laws are published in English and Spanish, and government material and services are legally required (by Act) to be made accessible to speakers of both languages. Some have asserted that the New Mexico situation is part of the provisions in the 1848 [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]]; however, no mention of "language rights" is made in the Treaty or in the [[Protocol of Querétaro]], beyond the "Mexican inhabitants" having (1) no reduction of rights below those of citizens of the United States and (2) precisely the same rights as are mentioned in Article III of the Treaty of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] and in the Treaty of the [[Florida Purchase]]. This would imply that the legal status of the Spanish language in New Mexico and in non-[[Gadsden Purchase]] areas of Arizona is the same as of French in [[Louisiana]] and certainly not less than that of German in Pennsylvania. The issue of [[bilingualism]] also applies in the states of [[Arizona]] and [[Texas]], while the constitution of Texas has no official language policy. Arizona passed a proposition in the [[United States general elections, 2006|November 7, 2006 general election]] 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 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> But historical bilingual representation existed in the Southwest states. In 2000, the [[census]] bureau printed the standard census questionnaires in six languages: [[American English|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (in [[traditional Chinese character|traditional characters]]), [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], and [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]. On [[May 19]], [[2006]], the [[United States Senate]] voted to make [[English language|English]] the [[national language]] of the United States. According to the bill, written by Sen. [[James M. Inhofe]] (R-Okla.), the federal government would no longer provide [[multilingual]] communications and services, except for those already guaranteed by law. Shortly after the approval of the Inhofe amendment, the Senate voted for another bill by Sen. [[Ken Salazar]] (D-Colo.), according to which English is the "common unifying language of the United States", but mandated that nothing in that declaration "shall diminish or expand any existing rights" regarding multilingual services. Neither of the bills were signed into law. The [[English-only movement]] seeks to establish English as the only official language of the entire nation despite Treaty obligations to the contrary.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} ==Indigenous languages== ===Native American languages=== The '''[[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. The U.S. (and North America in general) is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, as [[Edward Sapir]] observes: <blockquote>"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."</blockquote> According to the [http://www.census.gov/mp/www/spectab/languagespokenSTP224.xls 2000 Census] and other language surveys, the largest Native American language-speaking community by far is the Navajo. The largest communities are: ====Navajo==== 178,000 speakers. [[Navajo language|Navajo]] is one of the Athabascan languages of the [[Na-Dené languages|Na-Dené family]]. Along with the closely related Apache, the Navajo were first. ====Dakota==== [[Dakota language|Dakota]] has 18,000 speakers (22,000 including speakers in Canada), not counting 6,000 speakers of the closely related [[Lakota language|Lakota]]. Dakota is a member of the [[Siouan languages|Siouan language family]]. ====Central Alaskan Yup'ik==== [[Yupik language|Central Alaskan Yup'ik]] has 16,000 speakers. The Yup'ik are part of the [[Eskimo-Aleut languages|Eskimo-Aleut language family]] but are not Inuit. ====Cherokee==== [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]], which has 16,000 speakers, belongs to the [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian language family]]. The Cherokee have the largest tribal affiliation in the U.S., but most are of mixed ancestry and do not speak the language. Recent efforts to preserve and increase the Cherokee language in [[Oklahoma]] and the [[Cherokee Indian Reservation]] in [[North Carolina]] have been productive. ====Western Apache==== Western Apache, with 12,500 speakers, is a [[Southern Athabaskan language]] closely related to Navajo, but not mutually intelligible with it. ====Piman==== [[O'Odham language|Piman]] dialects (Pima and Tohono O'odham) have more than 12,000 speakers. Piman is one of the [[Uto-Aztecan languages]] along with [[Hopi language|Hopi]], [[Comanche language|Comanche]], [[Huichol language|Huichol]], and [[Nahuatl language|Aztec]]. ====Choctaw==== [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]] has 11,000 speakers. One of the [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean language family]], like [[Creek language|Seminole]] and [[Alabama language|Alabama]]. ====Keres==== [[Keresan languages|Keres]] has 11,000 speakers. A [[language isolate]], the Keres 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==== [[Zuni language|Zuni]] has 10,000 speakers. Zuni is a language isolate mostly spoken in a single pueblo, [[Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico|Zuni]], the largest in the U.S. ====Ojibwe==== [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] has 7,000 speakers (about 55,000 including speakers in Canada). The [[Algic languages|Algonquian language family]] includes populous languages like [[Cree language|Cree]] in Canada. ====Other languages==== Many other languages have been spoken within the current borders of the United States. The following is a list of 28 language ''families'' (groups of demonstrably related languages) indigenous to the territory of the continental United States. With further study, some of these will probably turn out to be related to each other. For example, a relationship between Alsea, Coos, Siuslaw, and Wintu looks promising.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} {| border="3" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 2em 2em 2em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;" | * [[Algic languages|Algic]] * [[Alsean]] * [[Athabaskan]] * [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]] * [[Chimakuan languages|Chimakuan]] * [[Chinookan languages|Chinook]]an * [[Chumash (tribe)|Chumashan]] * [[Coosan languages|Coosan]] * [[Comecrudan languages|Comecrudan]] * [[Eskimo-Aleut languages|Eskimo-Aleut]] * [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] * [[Kalapuyan]] * [[Kiowa-Tanoan languages|Kiowa-Tanoan]] * [[Maidu]]an | * [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] * [[Palaihnihan]] * [[Plateau Penutian languages|Plateau Penutian]] * [[Pomoan languages|Pomoan]] * [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] * [[Shastan languages|Shastan]] * [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] * [[Tsimshian]] * [[Utian]] * [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] * [[Wakashan]] * [[Wintu]]an * [[Yokutsan]] * [[Yuman-Cochimí languages|Yuman-Cochimí]] |} In addition to the above list of families, there are many languages in the United States that are sufficiently well-known to attempt to classify but which have not been shown to be related to any other language in the world. These 25 language isolates are listed below. With further study, some of these will likely prove to be related to each other or to one of the established families. Yuki-Wappo, for example, looks promising, and Natchez is frequently classified with the Muskogean family. Others, such as Cayuse and Adai, are so poorly known that it will probably never be possible to classify them properly. There are also larger and more contentious proposals such as [[Penutian]] and [[Hokan]]. {| border="3" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 2em 2em 2em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;" | * [[Adai]] * [[Atakapa language|Atakapa]] * [[Cayuse]] * [[Chimariko]] * [[Chitimacha]] * [[Coahuilteco]] * [[Esselen]] * [[Haida]] * [[Karankawa]] * [[Karok]] * [[Keres language|Keres]] * [[Kootenai (tribe)|Kootenai]] * [[Natchez (people)|Natchez]] | * [[Salinan]] * [[Siuslaw (tribe)|Siuslaw]] * [[Takelma language|Takelma]] * [[Timucua]] * [[Tonkawa]] * [[Tunica (language)|Tunica]] * [[Washo language|Washo]] * [[Yana language|Yana]] * [[Yuchi language|Yuchi]] * [[Yuki language|Yuki]] * [[Wappo language|Wappo]] * [[Zuni language|Zuni]] |} Since the languages in the Americas have a history stretching for about 17,000 to 12,000 years, current knowledge of American languages is limited. There are doubtless a number of languages that were spoken in the United States that are missing from historical record. ====Native American sign languages==== A sign-language [[trade]] [[pidgin]], known as '''[[Plains Indian Sign Language]]''' or '''Plains Standard''', arose among the [[Plains Indians]]. Each signing nation had a separate signed version of their spoken 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. ===Austronesian languages=== ====Hawaiian==== [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] is an official state language of [[Hawaii]] as prescribed in the [[Constitution of Hawaii]]. Hawaiian has 1,000 native speakers. Formerly considered critically endangered, Hawaiian is showing signs of language renaissance. The recent trend is based on new Hawaiian language immersion programs of the [[Hawaii State Department of Education]] and the [[University of Hawaii]], as well as efforts by the [[Hawaii State Legislature]] and county governments to preserve Hawaiian place names. In 1993, about 8,000 could speak and understand it; today estimates range up to 27,000. Hawaiian is related to the [[Māori language]] spoken by around 150,000 New Zealanders and Cook Islanders as well as the [[Tahitian language]] which is spoken by another 120,000 people of Tahiti. ====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 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. == Immigrant languages ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Asian American]] --> [[Image:SeattleTrashLeseRacBasura200511 KaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|A [[trash can]] in [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]] labeled in four languages: [[English language|English]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (incorrectly), and [[Spanish language|Spanish]]/[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]].]] Some of the first European languages to be spoken in the U.S. are English, [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. From the mid-19th century on, the nation had large numbers of immigrants who spoke little or no English, and throughout the country state laws, constitutions, and legislative proceedings appeared in the languages of politically important immigrant groups. There have been bilingual schools and local newspapers in such languages as [[German language|German]], [[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 language|Yiddish]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cantonese Chinese|Cantonese]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and others, despite opposing English-only laws that, for example, illegalized church services, telephone conversations, and even conversations in the street or on railway platforms in any language other than English, until the first of these laws was ruled unconstitutional in 1923 (''[[Meyer v. Nebraska]]''). Currently, Asian languages account for the majority of languages spoken in immigrant communities: [[Korean language|Korean]], various [[Chinese language]]s, and various Indian or South Asian languages like [[Hindi]]/[[Urdu]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Marathi]], [[Punjabi]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telgu]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]], [[Arabic]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Persian language|Persian]], and others. Typically, immigrant languages tend to be lost through assimilation within two or three generations, though there are some groups such as the [[Cajuns]] (French), [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] (German) in a state where large numbers of people were heard to speak it before the 1950s, and the original settlers of the [[American Southwest|Southwest]] (Spanish) who have maintained their languages for centuries. ===English=== {{main|American English}} '''[[English language|English]]''' was inherited from [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]], and it is spoken by the vast majority of the population. It serves as the ''[[de facto]]'' official language: the language in which government business is carried out. According to the 1990 census, 97% of U.S. residents speak English "well" or "very well." Only 0.8% speak no English at all as compared with 3.6% in 1890. [[American English]] is different from [[British English]] in terms of spelling (a classic 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, but there are certainly enough differences to cause occasional misunderstandings, usually surrounding slang or region dialect differences. [[Image:English USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|left|English language spread in the United States.]] 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. ===Spanish=== [[Image:Spanish USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Spanish language spread in the United States.]] {{main|Spanish in the United States}} [[Spanish language|Spanish]] is taught in various regions as a [[second language]], especially in areas with large Hispanic populations such as the [[Southwestern United States]] along the border with Mexico, as well as [[Florida]], 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, New York City|Washington Heights]] in [[New York City]] or [[Little Havana]] in [[Miami, Florida|Miami]]) in which entire city blocks will have only Spanish language signs and Spanish-speaking people. In addition to Spanish-speaking Hispanic populations, younger generations of non-Hispanics in the United States seem to be learning Spanish in larger numbers due to the growing Hispanic population and increasing popularity of Latin American movies and music performed in the Spanish language. Over 30 million Americans, roughly 12% of the population, speak Spanish as a first or second language, making Spanish easily the country's second-most spoken language; the United States thus has the fifth-largest Spanish speaking population in the world after [[Mexico]], [[Spain]], [[Colombia]], and [[Argentina]].<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues2/2005/vol09n12/BilingAmer.shtml |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070112164520/http://puertorico-herald.org/issues2/2005/vol09n12/BilingAmer.shtml |archive-date=[[January 12]], [[2007]] |title=A Bilingual America? The Trend Among Hispanics Suggests Not |date=[[November 15]], [[2004]] |publisher=Puerto Rico Herald |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> '''[[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 [[U.S.-Mexico border|U.S. - Mexico border]] ([[California]], [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Texas]]), [[Florida]], and [[New York City]]. ===Chinese=== [[Chinese language|Chinese]], mostly of the [[Cantonese (linguistics)|Cantonese variety]], is the third most-spoken language in the United States, almost completely spoken within [[Chinese American]] populations and by immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, especially in [[California]].<ref name="Lai">{{cite book | last = Lai | first = H. Mark | title = Becoming Chinese American: A History of Communities and Institutions | publisher = AltaMira Press | date = 2004 | isbn = 0759104581}}</ref> Many young Americans not of Chinese descent have become interested in learning the language, specifically [[Standard Mandarin]], the official spoken language in the [[People's Republic of China]] and the [[Republic of China]] on [[Taiwan]]. Over 2 million Americans speak [[identification of the varieties of Chinese|some variety of Chinese]], with the [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin variety]] becoming increasingly more prevalent due to the opening up of the PRC.<ref name="Lai"/> In [[New York City]] at least, although Mandarin is spoken as a native language among only 10% of Chinese speakers, it is used as a secondary dialect among the greatest number of them and is on its way to replace Cantonese as their [[lingua franca]].<ref>{{cite book | last = García | first = Ofelia | coauthors = Fishman, Joshua A. | title = The Multilingual Apple: Languages in New York City | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | date = 2002 | isbn = 311017281X}}</ref> ===French=== [[Image:French in the United States.png|thumb|250px|French language spread in the United States. Counties and parishes marked in yellow are those where 6% to 12% of the population speak French at home; brown, 12% to 18%; red, over 18%. [[Cajun French]] and [[French-based creole languages]] are not included.]] {{main|French in the United States}} [[French language|French]], the fourth most-common language, is spoken mainly by the native [[France|French]], [[Cajun]] [[Haiti]]an or [[French-Canadian]] populations. It is widely spoken in [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], and in [[Louisiana]]. French is the second ''de facto'' official language in the state of [[Louisiana]] (where the French dialect of [[Cajun French|Cajun]] predominates). The largest French-speaking communities in the United States reside in [[Maine|Northeast Maine]]; [[Hollywood, Florida|Hollywood]] and [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[Florida]]; [[New York City]]; certain areas of [[Louisiana|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. More than 13 million Americans possess primary French heritage, but only 1.6 million speak that language. ===German=== {{main|German in the United States}} [[German language|German]] was a widely spoken language in some of the colonies, especially Pennsylvania, where a number of German-speaking religious minorities settled to escape persecution in Europe. Dutch, Swedish, and [[Scottish Gaelic]] all became less common than German after the [[American Revolution]]. Another wave of settlement occurred when Germans fleeing the failure of 19th Century German revolutions emigrated to the United States. Large numbers of Germans settled throughout the U.S., especially in the cities. Neighborhoods in many cities were German-speaking. German farmers took up farming around the country, including the Texas Hill Country, at this time. German was widely spoken until the United States entered [[World War I]]. Numerous local German language newspapers and periodicals existed. [[Image:German USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|left|German language spread in the United States.]] In the early twentieth century, German was the most widely studied foreign language in the United States, and prior to [[World War I]], more than 6% of American school-children received their primary education exclusively in German, though some of these Germans came from areas outside of Germany proper. Currently, more than 47 million Americans claim [[German American|German ancestry]], the largest self-described ethnic group in the U.S., and 10% of them speak or could speak the language. The [[Amish]] speak a dialect of German known as [[Pennsylvania German language|Pennsylvania Dutch]]. In addition to Pennsylvania, German was widely spoken in the [[Midwest]] until the late 1950s. One reason for this decline of German language was the perception during both World Wars that speaking the language of the enemy was unpatriotic; foreign language instruction was banned in places during the First World War. Another was the demise of traditional agriculture. The last wave of German immigration followed [[World War II]], as post-war Germany suffered economic problems, and [[ethnic Germans]] were [[German exodus from Eastern Europe|uprooted]] from their homes in [[Eastern Europe]]. Unlike earlier waves, they were more concentrated in cities, and integrated quickly. Since the [[Wirtschaftswunder]], German immigration to the U.S. has all but ended. Most [[German American]]s are completely integrated into the mainstream American society and the language is being taught less and less in schools because of diminishing demand. However, in recent years, immigration of highly skilled Germans to the US has picked up to some degree. <br>''See also: [[Hutterite German]], [[Texas German]], [[Pennsylvania Dutchified English]], [[Plautdietsch]]. '' There is a myth (known as the Muhlenberg Vote) 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]] |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> The myth also extends to German being the second official language of Pennsylvania; however, Pennsylvania does not have an official language. ===Tagalog=== [[Image:Tagalog USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Tagalog language spread in the United States.]] [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] speakers were already present in the United States as early as the late [[sixteenth century]] as sailors contracted by the [[Spanish colony|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 as students or contract laborers. Their numbers, however, decreased upon [[Philippine independence]], as many Filipinos were [[Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935|repatriated]]. Today, Tagalog, together with its standardized form [[Filipino language|Filipino]], is spoken by over a million [[Filipino Americans]], and is promoted by Filipino American civic organizations and Philippine consulates. [[Taglish]], a form of [[code-switching]] between Tagalog and English, is also spoken by a number of Filipino Americans. As the [[Filipino people|Filipinos]] became the second fastest growing [[Asian people|Asian]] population in the United States, [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] easily became the second most spoken [[Asian language]] in the continent. Today, [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] is being majored in some universities where a significant number of Filipinos exist. Some of these schools include the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]] and the [[University of California]]. As [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] is the basis of [[Filipino language|Filipino]], most of all the [[Filipino people|Filipinos]] living in the United States are proficient in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]. ===Ilocano=== Like the [[Tagalog people|Tagalogs]], the [[Ilocano people|Ilocanos]] are an [[Austronesian]] stock which came from the [[Philippines]]. They were the first [[Filipino people|Filipinos]] to migrate en masse to the United States. They first entered the [[State of Hawai'i]] and worked there in the vast plantations. As they did in the Philippine provinces of Northern [[Luzon]] and [[Mindanao]], they quickly gained importance in the areas where they settled. Thus, the state of [[Hawai'i]] became no less different from the [[Philippines]] in terms of percentage of [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]] speakers. Like [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]] is also being taught in universities where most of the [[Filipino people|Filipinos]] reside. ===Italian=== [[Image:Italian USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|right|Current distribution of the Italian language in the United States.]] {{main|Italian language in the United States}} The [[Italian language]] has been a widely spoken language in the United States for more than one hundred years due to large-scale immigration beginning in the late 19th century. Today it is the eighth most spoken language in the country, being spoken by just over one million people at home.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&mode=lang_tops&SRVY_YEAR=2000&lang_id=619 |title=Italian |publisher=Modern language Association, citing Census 2000 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> Furthermore, in addition to the Standard Italian taught in textbooks and spoken on the street there is also presence of the dialects/languages of Southern Italy ([[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] and [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]] in particular) in some of the areas on the map at right. ===Russian=== [[Image:Russian USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Russian language spread in the United States.]] The '''[[Russian language]]''' is frequently spoken in areas of [[Alaska]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[San Francisco]], [[New York City]], [[Philadelphia]], and [[Chicago]]. The [[Russian-American Company]] used to own [[Alaska Territory]] until selling it after the [[Crimean War]]. Russian had always been limited, especially after the assassination of the [[Romanov]] dynasty of [[tsar]]s. The largest Russian-speaking neighborhoods in the United States are found in [[Queens, New York|Queens]], [[Brooklyn]], and [[Staten Island]] in [[New York City]] (specifically the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn) and in [[Sunny Isles Beach, Florida]]. ===Arabic=== Arabic is spoken by immigrants from the Middle East as well as many 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 Syrian, Palestinian, and Lebanese descent. Arabic is used for religious purposes by Muslim Americans and by some Arabic Christians (notably Catholics of the Malekite rite and Maronites as well as Rum Orthodox). 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. ===Hebrew=== Modern Hebrew is used by some immigrants from Israel and Eastern Europe. Liturgical Hebrew is used as a religious or liturgical language by many of the United States' approximately 7 million Jews. ===Yiddish=== [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] has a much longer history in the United States than Hebrew; it has been present since at least the late 19th century and continues to have roughly 179,000 speakers as of the 2000 census. Though they came from varying geographic backgrounds and nuanced approaches to worship, immigrant Jews of Eastern Europe and Russia were often united under a common understanding of the Yiddish language once they settled in America, and at one point dozens of publications were available in most East Coast cities. Though it has declined by quite a bit since the end of WWII, 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 mostly English vocabulary with some loan words. Furthermore, it is definitely a lingua franca alive and well among Orthodox Jewry, particularly in New York. ===Dutch=== [[Image:Dutch USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Dutch language spread in the United States.]] In 1602, the government of the [[Republic of the Seven United Netherlands]] chartered the [[Dutch East India Company]] (''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'', or VOC) with the mission of exploring for a passage to the [[Indies]] and claiming any unchartered territories for the Dutch republic. In 1609, [[England|English]] explorer [[Henry Hudson]] attempted to find a northwest passage to the Indies, instead discovering areas of current [[United States]] and [[Canada]], among others giving his name to the [[Hudson River]] and [[Hudson Bay]] and claiming the surrounding land for the VOC. After some early trading expeditions, the first settlement was founded in 1615: [[Fort Nassau]], on [[Castle Island (Massachusetts)|Castle Island]], near present-day [[Albany, New York|Albany]]. The settlement served mostly as a trade post for fur trade with the [[Native Americans in the United States|natives]] and was later replaced by [[Fort Oranje]] (or [[Fort Orange]]) at present-day Albany. In 1621, a new company was established with a trading monopoly in the [[Americas]] and West Africa: the [[Dutch West India Company]] (''Westindische Compagnie'' or WIC). The WIC sought recognition for the area in the New World - which had been called [[New Netherland]] - as a province, which was granted in 1623. Soon after, the first colonists, mostly from present-day [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], arrived in the new province. In 1626, director general of the WIC [[Peter Minuit]] "purchased" the island of [[Manhattan]] from Indians and started the construction of fort [[New Amsterdam]]. In the same year, [[Fort Nassau]] was built in the [[New Jersey]] area. Other settlements were [[Fort Casimir]] ([[Newcastle, Delaware|Newcastle]]) and [[Fort Beversrede]] ([[Philadelphia]]). In 1655, the main settlement of [[New Sweden]], [[Fort Christina]], was captured after the [[Sweden|Swedes]] had briefly occupied Fort Casimir. Large numbers of the inhabitants of these settlements were not Dutch, but came from a variety of other European countries, including England. In 1664, English troops under the command of the Duke of [[York]] (later [[James II of England]]) attacked the New Netherland colony. Being greatly outnumbered, director general [[Peter Stuyvesant]] surrendered [[New Amsterdam]], with [[Fort Orange]] following soon. New Amsterdam was renamed [[New York]], [[Fort Orange]] was renamed [[Fort Albany]]. [[Martin Van Buren]], the first President born in the United States following its independence, spoke Dutch as his [[native language]], making him the first of two Presidents whose [[first language]] was not English. Dutch was still spoken in many parts of New York at the time of the Revolution. For example, Alexander Hamilton's wife Eliza Hamilton attended a Dutch-language church during their marriage. In a 1990 demographic consensus, 3% of surveyed citizens claimed descent from Dutch settlers. Modern estimates place the [[Dutch American]] population at 5 million, lagging just a bit behind [[Scottish Americans]] and [[Swedish Americans]]. Notable Dutch Americans include the Roosevelts ([[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]) Marlon Brando, Thomas Alva Edison, Martin Van Buren and the Vanderbilts. It's been widely claimed the Roosevelts are direct descendants of Dutch settlers of the [[New Netherlands]] colony, now [[New York]] state in the 17th century. Only 150,000 people in the United States still speak the Dutch language at home today<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&mode=lang_tops&lang_id=610 |title=Dutch |publisher=Modern Language Association, citing census 2000}}</ref>, concentrated mainly in Michigan (i.e. the city of [[Holland, Michigan|Holland]]), Tennessee, Miami, Houston, and Chicago. The Dutch language is studied as a novelty in mostly Dutch communities of [[Pella, Iowa]], and [[San Joaquin County, California]] has a renowned Dutch and [[Frisian people|Frisian]] settlement history since the 1840s. A vernacular dialect of Dutch, known as [[Jersey Dutch]] was spoken by a significant number of people in the [[New Jersey]] area between the start of the 17th century to the mid-20th century. With the beginning of the 20th century, usage of the language became restricted to internal family circles, with an ever-growing number of people abandoning the language in favor of English. It suffered gradual decline throughout the 20th century, and it ultimately dissipated from casual usage. ===Swedish=== [[Image:Swedish USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Swedish language spread in the United States.]] '''[[New Sweden]]''', or '''Nya Sverige''', was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] colony in North America corresponding roughly to the networked region of urban sprawl around Philadelphia, containing such settlements as New Stockholm (now Bridgeport) and Swedesboro in New Jersey, as well as others in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The colony existed from March 1638 to September 1655. The first Swedish expedition to North America was launched from the port of [[Gothenburg]] in late 1637. Samuel Blommaert assisted with the fitting-out and appointed Peter Minuit to lead the expedition. Minuit was formerly the governor of the Dutch colony of [[New Netherlands]]. The members of the expedition, traveling aboard the ships Fågel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel, arrived in Delaware Bay, a location within the territory claimed by the Dutch, in late March 1638. They built a fort on the present-day location of the city of [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]], which they named Fort Christina, after [[Christina of Sweden|Queen Christina]] of [[Sweden]]. In the following years, approximately one thousand people from the Swedish mainland and [[Finland]] settled in the colonized establishments and townships. Widespread diaspora of 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 2000 census only 67,655 speak it at home<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&mode=lang_tops&lang_id=614 |title=Swedish |publisher=Modern Language Association, citing census 2000 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref>. [[Cultural assimilation]] has contributed to the gradual and steady decline of the language in the US. After the independence of the US from [[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 contains a large Swedish enclave called [[Andersonville]] on the city's north side. [[John Morton (politician)|John Morton]], the person who cast the decisive vote leading to the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], was a [[Swedish-speaking Finns|Swedish-speaking Finn]]. ===Polish=== The Polish language is very common in the [[Chicago]] metropolitan area. Chicago's largest white ethnic group are those of Polish descent. The Polish people and the Polish language in Chicago have been very prevelent in the early years of the city, as well as the progression and economical and social development of Chicago. Poles in Chicago make up the largest ethnically Polish population of any city outside of Poland (second only to [[Warsaw]]) making it one of the most important centers of [[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.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.usaweekend.com/05_issues/050515/050515travel_diverse.html#chicago |title=America the diverse: Chicago's Polish neighborhoods |publisher=usaweekend.com |date=[[May 15]], [[2005]] |accessdate=2008-07-04}}</ref>. ===Finnish=== [[Image:Finnish USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Finnish language spread in the United States.]] The first Finnish settlers in America were amongst the settlers who came from Sweden and Finland to [[New Sweden]] colony. Most colonists were Finnish. However Finnish language did not preserve so well as Swedish. Shortly after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], many [[Finnish citizen]]s immigrated to the United States, mainly in rural areas of the [[Midwest]] (and more specifically in [[Michigan]]'s [[Upper Peninsula]]). [[Hancock, Michigan]], as of 2005, still incorporates bi-lingual street signs written in both English and Finnish<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.selonen.org/arto/tour-usa/road.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060924140952/http://www.selonen.org/arto/tour-usa/road.html |archive-date=[[September 24]], [[2006]] |title=Street names are in english and in finnish |publisher=The Selonen Family Network |accessdate=2008-02-22}}{{verify credibility|date=February 2008}}</ref>. [[Finnish American|Americans of Finnish origin]] yield at 800,000 individuals, though only 39,770 speak the language at home<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&mode=lang_tops&lang_id=679 |title=Finnish |publisher=Modern Language Association, citing census 2000 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref>. There is a distinctive dialect of English to be found in the Upper Peninsula, known as [[Yooper dialect|Yooper]]. Yuper often has a Finnish cadence and uses Finnish sentence structure with modified English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish vocabulary. Notable Finnish Americans include [[Gus Hall]], U.S. Communist Party leader, [[Renny Harlin]], film director, and the Canadian-born actress [[Pamela Anderson]]. Another Finnish community in the United States is found in [[Lake Worth, Florida]], north of Miami. ===Welsh=== [[Image:Welsh USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|Welsh language spread 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 USA. According to the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 U.S. Census]], 2,649 people speak Welsh at home<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&lang_id=633&mode=lang_tops&a=&ea=&order=r |title=Welsh |publisher=Modern Language Association, citing Census 2000 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> Some place names, such as [[Bryn Mawr Historic District|Bryn Mawr in Chicago]] and [[Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania]] ([[English language|English]]: ''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]], and [[Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania|Tredyffrin]]. ===Scottish Gaelic=== In the 17th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of [[Scottish People|Scots]] from [[Scotland]], and [[Ulster-Scots|Scots-Irish]] from [[Northern Ireland]] arrived in the American colonies. Today, an estimated 15 million Americans are of [[Scottish ancestry]]. The province of [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]] was the main concentration of [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]] speakers in North America (''Nova Scotia'' is Latin for ''New Scotland''). According to the 2000 census, 1,610 people speak Scottish Gaelic at home.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&mode=lang_tops&SRVY_YEAR=2000&lang_id=636 |title=Scottic Gaelic |publisher=Modern Language Association, citing Census 2000 |accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref>. ==New American languages, dialects, and creoles== Several languages have developed on American soil, including [[creole language|creole]]s and [[sign language]]s. ===Gullah=== '''[[Gullah language|Gullah]]''', an English-African creole language spoken on the [[Sea Islands]] of [[South Carolina]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], retains strong influences of West African languages. The language is sometimes referred to as "Geechee". ====African American Vernacular English==== '''[[African American Vernacular English]]''' (AAVE), also known as '''Ebonics''', is a variety of English spoken by many [[African Americans]], in both rural and urban areas. Not all African Americans speak AAVE and many European Americans do. Indeed, it is generally accepted that [[Southern American English]] is part of the same continuum as AAVE. There is considerable debate among non-linguists as to whether the word "[[dialect]]" is appropriate to describe it. However, there is general agreement among linguists and many African Americans that AAVE is part of a historical continuum between creoles such as Gullah and the language brought by English colonists. Some educators view AAVE as exerting a negative influence on the learning of Proper and Standard English, as numerous AAVE rules differ from the rules of Standard English. Other educators, however, propose that Standard English should be taught as a "second dialect" in areas where AAVE is a strong part of local tradition. ===Hawaiian Creole=== '''[[Hawaiian Pidgin]]''', more accurately known as '''Hawaiian Creoles''', is commonly used by locals and is considered an unofficial language of the state. This not to be confused with [[Hawaiian English]] which is standard American English with Hawaiian words. ===Sign languages=== :See also: [[Languages in the United States#Native American sign languages]]. {{Expand-section|date=January 2007}} ====Martha's Vineyard Sign Language==== '''[[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]]''' is now extinct. Along with [[French Sign Language]], it was one of two main contributors to American Sign Language. ====American Sign Language==== '''[[American Sign Language]]''' (ASL) is the native language of between 500,000 and 2 million [[Deaf]] people in America. Unlike [[Signed English]], ASL is a natural language in its own right, not a manual representation of English. Signs are indicated by three things 1) hand shape 2) location and 3) motion. For example, a hand shape is having the index finger extended. Location is where the finger is on the signer's body, for example, an index finger touching the temple means "thinking." Motion is what the hand is doing, for example, an index finger pointed out and making a circle means "only." An index finger touching the throat and making a downward motion means "thirsty." Sign language grammar does not usually use articles such as "an" or "the." It is a visual grammar so that a signer can indicate how high a person or thing jumped, how fast or slow someone moved, or the relationship between two objects, by the height, speed, or direction of the sign. An example of a sign language sentence, and the title of a book is, "Train, Go, Sorry." It is the equivalent of "you missed the boat." The English sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" would be signed "lazy dog, fox, brown, quick jumps." The signer would place the dog in a spot, describe it, place the fox in a different position and describe it, and then show the fox jumping over the dog. Grammar is also provided by the signer's facial expression. For example, whether a sentence is a statement or question is indicated by the signer's face. In addition, complex contextual information is provided by the signer's face and body language. =====Black American Sign Language===== [[Black American Sign Language]] developed in segregated schools in the south. Much like AAVE and standard English, it differs in vocabulary and grammatical structure from ASL. ====Hawaii Pidgin Sign Language==== '''[[Hawaii Pidgin Sign Language]]''' (named after Hawaiian Pidgin English, but not itself a pidgin) is moribund. ===Artificial languages=== ====Esperanto==== '''[[Esperanto]]''' is a [[Constructed language|constructed]] 'international' language, developed by [[L. L. Zamenhof]], a Jewish-Polish oculist in [[Warsaw]], the capital of the [[Russia]]n part of partitioned [[Poland]], and released in 1887. A nationwide organization called [[Esperanto-USA]] (formerly the Esperanto League for North America) headquartered in [[Emeryville, California]] oversees the Esperanto movement in the U.S., publishing literature, issuing a periodical, and organizing its annual conference. Smaller local groups organize meetings and annual banquets, and also host Esperanto-speaking foreign visitors. ==See also== *[[Language Spoken at Home (U.S. Census)]] *[[Culture of the United States]] *[[American English]] *[[Bilingual education]] *[[Spanish in the United States]] *[[French in the United States]] *[[German in the United States]] *[[Italian language in the United States|Italian in the United States]] *[[Japanese language education in the United States]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==Bibliography== * 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. <cite id=CITEREFGrimes2000>* Grimes, Barbara F. (Ed.). (2000). ''Ethnologue: Languages of the world'', (14th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-106-9.</cite> Online edition: http://www.ethnologue.com/, accessed on [[December 7]], [[2004]]. * Mithun, Marianne. (1999). ''The languages of native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * 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'' (pp. 135-155). Oxford: Berg. ==External links== * [http://extensionenespanol.net/articles.cfm?articleid=19 Bilingualism in the United States] * [http://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?] * [http://www.native-languages.org Native Languages of the Americas] * [http://www.trustedtranslations.com/hispanic_market.asp Spanish-speaking in the U.S.] * [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=US Ethnologue report for USA] * [http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesusa/usa.htm Linguistic map of the United States of America] {{United States topics}} {{Life in the United States}} {{Languages in North America}} {{Anglophone states}} {{English official language clickable map}} [[Category:Demographics of the United States]] [[Category:Languages of the United States|*]] [[Category:American culture]] [[de:Sprachen in den Vereinigten Staaten]] [[es:Idiomas en los Estados Unidos]] [[fr:Langues aux États-Unis d'Amérique]] [[ko:미국의 언어]] [[jv:Basa ing Amérika Sarékat]] [[nl:Talen in de Verenigde Staten]] [[ru:Языки Соединённых Штатов Америки]] [[simple:Languages in the United States]] [[fi:Yhdysvaltain kielet]] [[vi:Ngôn ngữ tại Hoa Kỳ]]