America main language: Languages of the united states

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7 марта, 2023
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What Is The Official Language Of The United States?

English is spoken by an overwhelming majority of Americans. Image credit: nito/Shutterstock

The United States has no official language.
English is spoken by the overwhelming majority of Americans.
Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the US after English.
At least 350 languages are spoken in the US today.

It is generally known that the overwhelming majority of people in the United States speak English. But would it surprise you to know that English is not the country’s official language? Actually, the US is one of just a handful of countries that do not have an official language.

Most countries have an official language that is specified as such in law. Many countries specify the official language(s) in their constitutions. But in the US, neither the constitution nor any federal law specifically states that English is the official language of the country. Therefore, the country has no official language.

The American Language Melting Pot

Today, the US is home to approximately 331 million people, of which 300 million, or roughly 90% of the population, speak English. But millions of Americans also speak other languages. In fact, the US is home to speakers of at least 350 languages in total. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US after English, and other languages with millions of speakers include Chinese, Tagalog (the national dialect of the Philippines), Vietnamese, and French (including French Creole).

A History Of Multilingualism

What became the United States was multilingual long before the country was founded. In fact, before the arrival of Europeans in North America, at least 300 languages were spoken by Indigenous peoples in what is now the US and Canada. When Europeans began arriving and settling in what became the US, they of course brought their mother tongues with them.

A Spanish sign in Phoenix, Arizona, US. Spanish is the second-most spoken country in the US. Image credit: Rebekah Zemansky/Shutterstock

On the eve of American independence in 1776, English was the most dominant language in the original 13 colonies that would form the United States of America, but many of the colonies’ residents also spoke French, German, and Dutch. Indeed, one reason that the founding fathers of the United States did not proclaim English as the official language of the new country was that they did not want to offend those who fought for independence but were not native English speakers. The founding fathers also did not believe that the English language needed any protection under the law.

As the US expanded its territory and welcomed new immigrants, more languages became part of the fabric of American culture. Spanish, for example, would become a common language in the US with the addition of territories formerly belonging to Mexico and Spain. Despite a history of multilingualism, however, the US also has a history of trying to impose the English language on allophones, both domestic and foreign.

Suppression Of Non-English Languages

Although the US has never adopted English as its official language, the country does have a history of trying to suppress other languages. For example, there was a concerted effort by US authorities to suppress and eliminate the languages of Indigenous Americans. Many Indigenous children were placed in government-run boarding schools, where they were educated only in English. In fact, they were often punished if they spoke their languages. Slaves brought to the US from Africa were also forbidden from speaking their own languages.

The «Speak English» movement associates the English language with American patriotism. Image credit: Sean K/Shutterstock

It was the 20th century that saw the most widespread efforts to discourage the use of non-English languages in the US. During World War I, for instance, some states made it illegal for people to speak German, and laws were passed that discouraged the use of non-English languages in general. Following WWI, English-only laws were passed throughout different US states, and people speaking languages other than English were routinely punished. In 1924, during a period of American isolationism, a new immigration act was passed restricting the arrival of new immigrants from non-Anglophone countries and putting an outright ban on immigrants from Asia. It was not until 1965 that US immigration policy changed to remove restrictions on newcomers from non-English-speaking countries. This policy change, however, had the effect of making some Americans fear that the English language was in danger as people speaking other languages again began streaming into the US.

In the late 20th century, there were several attempts made at both the federal and state level to enforce the use of English and discourage the use of other languages. In 1981, for example, a US senator tried to introduce an amendment to the constitution that would have made English the official language of the country, but it ultimately failed. Several states did, however, successfully pass English-only laws during the 1980s and 1990s.

The Language Debate Continues

As recently as 2006, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to make English the official language of the US, but it was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, more than half of US states have laws on the books that make English an official language. Some Americans, however, have embraced multilingualism. Three US states, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Alaska, have even given official status to non-English languages. Clearly, the issue of whether or not English should be the official language of the US continues, unabated, to this day.

Jason Shvili February 2 2021 in Did You Know

What is the official language of the United States?

English is the most common language in the United States of America, which makes it the de facto national language. But is it the official language of the USA? Does the country even have one? What is an official language, and which languages have that status in the United States? We’ll answer these questions and address some facts and fiction surrounding them.

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Official languages in the USA

What is an official language?

The term official language does not describe the language spoken by majority in a country, region, or state. It refers to the government or state language as it is used in judication, legislation and administration. Around 180 countries in the world have an official language and more than one hundred recognise more than one official language. However, the USA is part of neither group.

Read more about the differences between American, British, and Australian English.

US states with official languages

The United States of America doesn’t have an official language on the federal level. They do use English as the primary language for official documents and publications, legislation, orders, regulations and rulings. Yet state laws govern dual-language situations and can require the printing of documents in more than one English, for example English and Spanish or even French.

A number of states have established English as the only official language on a state level, while other states recognise English alongside native languages. 30 US states have made English the only official language, while Hawaii recognises Hawaiian alongside English and Alaska has many official native languages.

The 30 states with English as the only official language are:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

All US territories have official languages. Puerto Rico has declared Spanish the principal language, but both English and Spanish are official languages. In the US Virgin Islands, only English is official, while American Samoa has English and Samoan. Guam has English and Chamorro has official languages and in the Northern Mariana Islands, English, Chamorro and Carolinian are official.

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The English Language Unity Act

The English Language Unity Act is a bill seeking to establish English as the US official language on the federal level. Its first version was introduced in 2005 and would require functions, proceedings and publication of federal and state government to be in English.

The bill never became law, though it passed the House of Representatives in 1999. In 2005, a version garnered 164 sponsors in the House, but the bill died then and again in 2007 with 153 cosponsors. In 2017, House Resolution 997 had the support of 73 representatives. Its senate companion bill had seven senators supporting it, again not enough to pass into law.

To this day, there is no federal law in the United States of America declaring English or any other language as official on a national level.

How many people speak English and where is it spoken?

The German myth

According to an urban legend, in 1776, a decision to make German instead of English the official language of the USA hinged on only one vote. This is a myth, but it has various kernels of truth.

Roughly 17% of US-Americans have German forefathers. And there was a vote with a close result, but it didn’t happen in 1776, and it wasn’t on any official language. In 1795, following Congressional debate, a vote ended 42 to 41 against publishing US laws translated into German or languages other than English.

Find out about the biggest differences between America and Germany!

Most common languages in the USA

According to data based on research by the American Community Survey and published by the US Census Bureau, these are the most common languages spoken in the USA: between 290 and 300 million people speak English, while around 230 to 235 million only speak English at home. Around 60 million speak a language other than English at home.

Top 10 most common languages in the USA

The top ten common languages spoken in the USA are:

English: 290-300 million speakers (230-235 English only)
Spanish: ~42 million speakers
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien): ~3.5 million speakers
Tagalog (incl. Filipino): ~1.75 million speakers
Vietnamese: ~1.5 million speakers
Arabic: ~1.25 million speakers
French: ~1.2 million speakers
Korean: ~1.1 million speakers
Russian: ~0.95 million speakers
German: ~0.92 million speakers

US indigenous languages

The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma recognises Cherokee as the official language with around 12,000 speakers. Likewise, indigenous languages are official or co-official on many of the US Indian reservations.

Navajo is the most common of the native American languages with around 166,000 speakers who mostly live in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. All other indigenous North American languages combined have 197,000 speakers, with Yupik, Dakota, Apache, Keres, Cherokee, Ojibwa, Choctaw and Zuni being among the most common languages.

Interested in American culture? We’ll tell you how formal or informal people in the USA are!

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Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his website, Twitter or on Goodreads.

Do you know what language is the state language in the USA?

Awards and certificates

2014-10-24

If your answer is “English”, try again a couple of times. Do not be upset: almost everyone we interviewed answered the same way. English is called by default, because. it is the most spoken language in the US. But, it has a competitor — Spanish, which, slightly behind English, ranks second in terms of prevalence thanks to 40 million Hispanic Americans. nine0005

Unofficial English

So some may wonder: “Why is the United States of America, which is (in your opinion) an English-speaking state, putting up with this state of affairs (which includes not only Spanish, but also many other languages ) about which we may not even know anything?” The answer is simple: «The government of the United States has never accepted English as a state or official language.» Moreover, despite numerous attempts by various organizations to do so. For example, in 1870, a certain John Adams proposed that the Continental Congress of the United States of America adopt English as the state language. Such a proposal received a verdict of «anti-democratic and posing a threat to individual freedom.» The debate about whether English is needed as a single state American language has been going on for many years, but the answer to this question has not been found. Despite this, 27 states (out of 50) have adopted English as their official language. nine0005

Multilingual America

The current situation is connected, first of all, with the history of this state. It should not be overlooked that since 1776 the United States has been a multiethnic country. Even then, it did not seem strange to anyone that about twenty different languages \u200b\u200bwere considered common. And languages such as English, German, Spanish and French competed for the right to dominate the country. To date, 322 languages are spoken in the United States, 24 of which are in circulation in all states and in the District of Columbia. The largest number of languages is in circulation in California — 207, and the smallest in Wyoming — 56.

So why doesn’t Congress declare one language as the state language? And all because the inhabitants of the United States are a nation of immigrants, and the above information confirms this fact. That is why giving official status to one language would infringe on the rights of full-fledged citizens who do not fully speak English.

Language legislation

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was written to support such citizens. Although 27 states recognize English as the official language, they are still subject to the provisions of this Act, which requires that all important documentation be written in all languages of those citizens who receive any privileges from the government. nine0005

In addition, this document requires that all public economic organizations that receive financial support from the state maintain documentation in all languages of their clients. You will ask why?» The answer is the same: «America has never adopted a single official language, which is clearly indicated in this legislative act.»

Spanish and English

In addition, this law does not only work at the level of documents. Today, for example, most commercial structures operate in English and Spanish: hotlines are served by operators who speak them, and almost all instructions (for example, inscriptions in public transport) are also duplicated in two languages. nine0005

This state of affairs is also reflected in the work of local translation agencies. Statistically, the most popular type of translation in America is from English to Spanish.

Official language in the USA

Do you know what is the official language in the USA?

If your answer is «English», try again a couple of times.

Don’t be upset: almost everyone we interviewed gave the same answer. nine0039 English is the default language because it is the most spoken language in America. But, it has a competitor — Spanish, which is slightly behind English, is the second most common, thanks to 40 million Hispanic Americans.

Therefore, some may wonder: “Why is the United States of America, which is (in your opinion) an English-speaking state, put up with this state of affairs (which includes not only Spanish, but also many other languages ) about which we may not even know anything?” The answer is simple: «The government of America has never adopted English as a state or official language. » Moreover, despite numerous attempts by various organizations to do so. For example, in 1870, a certain John Adams proposed that the Continental Congress of the United States of America adopt English as the state language. Such a proposal received a verdict of «anti-democratic and posing a threat to individual freedom.» The debate about whether English is needed as a single state American language has been going on for many years, but the answer to this question has not been found. Despite this, in 27 states (out of 50) English is accepted as official. nine0005

The current situation is connected, first of all, with the history of this state. It should not be overlooked that since 1776 the United States has been a multiethnic country. Even then, it did not seem strange to anyone that about twenty different languages were in common use. And foreign languages competed for the right to dominate the country: like English, German, Spanish and French. To date, 322 languages are spoken in the United States, 24 of which are in circulation in all states and in the District of Columbia. The largest number of languages is in circulation in California — 207, and the smallest in Wyoming — 56.

So why doesn’t Congress declare one language as the official language? And all because the United States is a nation of immigrants and the above information confirms this fact. That is why giving official status to one language would infringe on the rights of full-fledged citizens who do not fully speak English.