Languages of the United States

The United States does not have an official language. English and Spanish are the most widely used languages in the U.S. [1]

Languages of the United States
OfficialNone
NationalEnglish (de facto)
MainEnglish 78.0%, Spanish 13.3%, other Indo-European languages 3.8%, Asian and Pacific languages 3.6%, other languages 1.2% (2022 survey by the Census Bureau[2])
IndigenousNavajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee, Dakota, Lakota, Western Apache, Keres, Hopi, Zuni, Kiowa, Ojibwe, O'odham, Miwuk[3][4]
Others

Abenaki, Achumawi, Acolapissa, Adai, Afro-Seminole Creole, Alabama, Aleut, Apalachee, Aranama, Arapaho, Arikara, Assiniboine, Atakapa, Atsugewi, Awaswas, Barbareño, Bay Miwok, Biloxi, Blackfoot, Buena Vista, Caddo, Cahto, Calusa, Carolina Algonquian, Catawba, Cayuga, Cayuse, Central Kalapuya, Central Pomo, Central Sierra Miwok, Chalon, Chemakum, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, Chico, Chimariko, Chinook Jargon, Chippewa, Chitimacha, Chiwere, Chochenyo, Choctaw, Chukchansi, Coast Miwok, Coast Tsimshian, Coahuilteco, Cocopah, Coeur d'Alene, Colorado River, Columbia-Moses, Comanche, Coree, Cotoname, Cowlitz, Cree, Crow, Cruzeño, Cupeño, Eastern Pomo, Erie, Esselen, Etchemin, Eyeri, Fox, Garza, Gashowu, Gros Ventre, Gullah, Halchidhoma, Halkomelem, Hanis, Havasupai, Havasupai–Hualapai, Hawaiian Pidgin, Hidatsa, Hitchiti, Houma, Hupa, Ipai, Ivilyuat, Jicarilla, Kansa, Karankawa, Karkin, Karuk, Kashaya, Kathlamet, Kawaiisu, Kings River, Kiowa, Kitanemuk, Kitsai, Klallam, Klamath, Klickitat, Koasati, Konkow, Konomihu, Kumeyaay, Kutenai, Lake Miwok, Lipan, Louisiana Creole, Lower Tanana, Luiseño, Lummi, Lushootseed, Mahican, Maidu, Makah, Malecite-Passamaquoddy, Mandan, Maricopa, Massachusett, Mattole, Mednyj Aleut, Menominee, Mescalero-Chiricahua, Miami-Illinois, Mikasuki, Mi'kmaq, Miluk, Mitchigamea, Mobilian Jargon, Mohawk, Mohawk Dutch, Mohegan-Pequot, Mojave, Molala, Moneton, Mono, Munsee, Muscogee, Mutsun, Nanticoke, Natchez, Nawathinehena, Negerhollands, Neutral, New River Shasta, Nez Perce, Nicoleño, Nisenan, Nlaka'pamux, Nomlaki, Nooksack, Northeastern Pomo, Northern Kalapuya, Northern Paiute, Northern Pomo, Northern Sierra Miwok, Nottoway, Obispeño, Ofo, Okanagan, Okwanuchu, Omaha–Ponca, Oneida, Onondaga, Osage, Ottawa, Palewyami, Pawnee, Pennsylvania Dutch, Picuris, Piscataway, Plains Apache, Plains Cree, Plains Miwok Potawatomi, Powhatan, Purisimeño, Qawiaraq, Quapaw, Quechan, Quileute, Quinault, Quinipissa, Quiripi, Ramaytush, Rumsen, Saanich, Sahaptin, Salinan, Salish-Spokane-Kalispel, Scahentoarrhonon, Seneca, Serrano, Shasta, Shawnee, Shoshoni, Sioux, Siuslaw, Solano, Southeastern Pomo, Southern Pomo, Southern Sierra Miwok, Southern Tiwa, Stoney, Susquehannock, Taensa, Takelma, Tamyen, Tangipahoa, Taos, Tataviam, Tawasa, Tequesta, Tewa, Texas German, Tillamook, Timbisha, Timucua, Tiipai, Tolowa, Tongva, Tonkawa, Tsetsaut, Tübatulabal, Tunica, Tuscarora, Tutelo, Tututni, Twana, Umatilla, Unami, Upper Chinook, Ute, Ventureño, Virgin Islands Creole, Wailaki, Wappo, Washo, Wenrohronon, Whulshootseed, Wichita, Winnebago, Wintu, Wiyot, Woccon, Wukchumni, Wyandot, Yamasee, Yana, Yaqui, Yavapai, Yoncalla, Yuchi, Yuki, Yurok

RegionalNew Mexican Spanish, Ahtna, Alutiiq, Carolinian, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Siberian Yupik, Chamorro, Deg Xinag, Dena’ina, Eyak, Pennsylvania Dutch, Gwich’in, Haida, Hän, Hawaiian, Holikachuk, Inupiaq, Koyukon, Samoan, Tanacross, Tanana, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Upper Kuskokwim, Upper Tanana, Gullah, Virgin Islands Creole, California English, New England English, New Jersey English, Southern American English, Texan English, Louisiana French, Texas German, Puerto Rican Spanish
VernacularAfrican American Vernacular English
ImmigrantSpoken at home by more than 1,000,000 people[5]
  • Spanish 41,460,427
  • Chinese 3,471,604
  • French 2,066,656
  • Tagalog 1,760,468
  • Vietnamese 1,542,473
  • German 1,422,798
  • Korean 1,086,335
SignedAmerican Sign Language,
Keresan Sign Language,
Navajo Family Sign,
Plains Indian Sign Language,
Puerto Rican Sign Language,
Samoan Sign Language,
Black American Sign Language,
Hawaiʻi Sign Language
Keyboard layout

The United States does not have an official language at the federal level, but the most commonly used language is English (specifically, American English), which is the de facto national language. In addition, 32 U.S. states out of 50 and all five U.S. territories have declared English as an official language. It is also the language spoken at home by the great majority of the U.S. population (approximately 78%).[6] Many other languages are also spoken at home, especially Spanish (13.3% of the population), according to the American Community Survey (ACS) of the U.S. Census Bureau; others include indigenous languages originally spoken by Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and native populations in the U.S. unincorporated territories. Other languages were brought in by people from Europe, Africa, Asia, other parts of the Americas, and Oceania, including multiple dialects, creole languages, pidgin languages, and sign languages originating in what is now the United States. Interlingua, an international auxiliary language, was also created in the U.S.

The majority of foreign language speakers in the U.S. are bilingual or multilingual, and they commonly speak English. Although 21.7% of U.S. residents report that they speak a language other than English at home, only 8.2% speak English less than "very well."[7] Approximately 430 languages are spoken or signed by the population, of which 177 are indigenous to the U.S. or its territories.[8]

  1. ^ "Official language of the United States | USAGov". www.usa.gov. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Explore Census Data".
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Census Data Of USA". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  5. ^ "Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over for United States: 2014-2018". census.gov. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "American Community Survey, Language Spoken". Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  8. ^ Grimes 2000

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