Languages of the United States

Languages of the United States
OfficialEnglish[a][1][2]
NationalEnglish
245,687,577 speakers at home (2023)
MainEnglish 78%, Spanish 13.4%, other Indo-European languages 3.8%, Asian and Pacific languages 3.6%, other languages 1.2% (updated 2023 survey by the Census Bureau)[3]
IndigenousNavajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee, Dakota, Lakota, Western Apache, Keres, Hopi, Zuni, Kiowa, Ojibwe, O'odham, Miwuk[4][5]
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,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, Aleut, 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 million people (2020 figures):[6]
  • 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
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 most commonly used language in the United States is English (specifically American English), which is the national language. A March 2025 executive order declared English the official language of the United States;[a] despite some previous attempts, no legislation has been passed by the U.S. Congress to make English the official language.[2][1] In addition, 32 U.S. states out of 50 and all five U.S. territories have declared English as an official language, with three states and most territories having adopted English plus one or more other official languages. Accommodations for non-English-language speakers are sometimes made under various federal, state, and local laws. The majority of the U.S. population (78%) speaks only English at home as of 2023, according to the American Community Survey (ACS) of the U.S. Census Bureau.[7] The remainder of the population speaks many other languages at home, most notably Spanish (13.4% of the population), Chinese (around 1%) and other Asian languages such as Tagalog and Vietnamese, and the Indigenous languages of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. In addition, many residents of the U.S. unincorporated territories speak their own native languages or (in Puerto Rico) Spanish. Over the course of its 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, and Gullah), creole languages (such as Louisiana Creole), and pidgin languages. American Sign Language (ASL) and Interlingua, an international auxiliary language, were created in the United States.

The majority of foreign language speakers in the U.S. are bilingual or multilingual, and they commonly speak English. Although 22% of U.S. residents report that they speak a language other than English at home, only 8.4% of these same residents speak English less than "very well".[8][9] Approximately 430 languages are spoken or signed by the population, of which 177 are indigenous to the U.S. or its territories.[10]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ a b Vivian Ho; Rachel Pannett (March 1, 2025). "A Trump order made English the official language of the U.S. What does that mean?". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ a b Luke Broadwater (March 1, 2025). "Trump Signs Order to Designate English as Official Language of the U.S." The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Explore Census Data".
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Census Data Of USA". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ACS2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "Languages spoken at home 2023". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Grimes 2000

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