Languages of the United States
Official language(s)	none
Main language(s)	American English (82%)
Indigenous language(s)	Hawaiian, Navajo, Dakota, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Cherokee, Western Apache, Piman, Choctaw, Keres, Zuni, Ojibwe
Minority language(s)	Spanish 10.7%, French Cajun French, Louisiana Creole, Haitian creole, German Pennsylvania German, Chinese, Hindi, Italian, Russian, Scandinavian languages, Tagalog
Main foreign language(s)	Spanish, French, German[1]
Common keyboard layout(s)	QWERTY

The United States does not have an official language, but 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".^[2] On May 18, 2006, the Senate voted on an amendment to an immigration reform bill that would declare English the national language of the United States^[3]. The immigration reform bill itself, S. 2611, was passed in the Senate on May 25, 2006, but expired when the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to agree upon the amendments in conference. An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... This is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. ... The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian language that takes its name from HawaiÊ»i, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. ... For other uses, see Navajo (disambiguation). ... Lakota or Lakhota (as it is also commonly spelled) is the largest of the five major dialects of the Sioux language. ... Languages Central Alaskan Yupik, English Religions Christianity (mostly Russian Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, or Moravian Church) Related ethnic groups Other Yupik peoples (Siberian Yupik, Alutiiq, Naukan), Inuit, Aleut This article is about people of southwestern Alaska. ... This page contains special characters. ... Links Western Apache-English Dictionary (White Mountain) White Mountain Apache Tribe (Arizona Intertribal Council) San Carlos Apache Tribe (Arizona Intertribal Council) Tonto Apache Tribe (Arizona Intertribal Council) Yavapai-Apache Nation Official Website Yavapai-Apache Nation (Arizona Intertribal Council) White Mountain Apache Tribe White Mountain Apache photographs map of Fort Apache... Piman refers to both a Native American ethnic group that presently inhabit an area in southern Arizona and to a group of languages within the Uto-Aztecan family that are spoken by ethnic groups spanning from Arizona in the north to Durango, Mexico in the south. ... For other uses, see Choctaw (disambiguation). ... Keres may refer to: Keres (mythology), female death-spirits in Greek mythology Keres people, Pueblo peoples in New Mexico Keresan languages, languages or dialects spoken by Keres peoples Paul Keres - Estonian chess grandmaster Keres (launcher), an Israeli transporter erector launcher for AGM-78 Standard ARM missiles. ... The Zuni (also spelled Zuñi) or Ashiwi are a Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples, most of whom live in the Pueblo of Zuñi on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico. ... For other uses of Chippewa, see Chippewa (disambiguation). ... A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. ... Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French [2]) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. ... Louisiana Creole (Créole Louisiane and Kourí-Viní, as it is known in and near St. ... Haitian Creole (Kreyòl ayisyen) is a creole language based on the French language. ... The Pennsylvania Dutch (more correctly Pennsylvania Deutsch or Pennsylvania German, speakers of the Pennsylvania German language) are a people of various religious affiliations, living mostly in central Pennsylvania, with cultural traditions dating back to the German immigrations to America in the 17th and 18th centuries. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the East Germanic languages. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... A foreign language is a language not spoken by the indigenous people of a certain place: for example, English is a foreign language in Japan. ... A standard Hebrew keyboard showing both Hebrew and English (QWERTY) letters. ... For the song by Linkin Park, see QWERTY (song). ... Image File history File links KB_United_States-NoAltGr. ... An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Monoglottism (Greek monos, alone, solitary, + glotta, tongue, language) is the condition of being able to speak only a single language. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... Canadian English (CanE) is the variety of North American English used in Canada. ... North American English is a collective term used for the varieties of the English language that are spoken in the United States and Canada. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Senate Bill 2611 (Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act) (abbreviated CIRA), is a United States Senate bill dealing with immigration reform. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Type Bicameral Speaker of the House of Representatives House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Steny Hoyer, (D) since January 4, 2007 House Minority Leader John Boehner, (R) since January 4, 2007 Members 435 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party...

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 of Puerto Rico is predominantly Spanish-speaking. Although many new Latin American immigrants are less than fluent in English, second-generation Hispanic Americans commonly speak English fluently, while only about half still speak Spanish.^{[citation needed]} This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... The Southwest could be defined as the states south, or for the most part west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit, such as the 37, or 38, or 39, or 40 degree north line. ... In the terminology of the United States insular areas, a Commonwealth is an organized territory or colony that has established with the Federal Government a more highly developed relationship, which may be embodied in a written mutual agreement. ... Hispanic Americans (Spanish: Hispano Americano) are Americans of Hispanic ethnicity who largely identify with the Hispanic cultural heritage. ...

Without assuming probable undercounting of certain other groups in the 2000 US census, people of German ancestry make up the largest single ethnic group in the United States, and the German language ranks fifth. Italian, Polish, and 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 to become one of the minority languages in the United States. German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ...

Tagalog and Vietnamese have over one million speakers in the United States, almost entirely within recent immigrant populations. Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ...

There is also a small population of 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, 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. This article is about the people indigenous to the United States and their history after European contact, chiefly in what is now the United States. ... The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian language that takes its name from Hawaiʻi, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

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.^[4]

Census statistics

According to the 2000 census^[6], the main languages by number of speakers older than 5 are: Language Spoken at Home is a data set published by the United States Census Bureau on languages in the United States. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Arabic redirects here. ... A French creole, more properly French-based creole language, is a creole language with substantial influence from the French language. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Farsi redirects here. ... The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, and Sanskrit influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... Gujarati (ગુજરાતી GujÇŽrātÄ«; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... The Mon-Khmer languages are the autochthonous languages of Indo-China. ... Khmer is one of the main Austroasiatic languages, and has had considerable influence from Sanskrit and Pali. ... The Kru languages belong to the Niger-Congo language family and are spoken in the area ranging from the south-east of Liberia to the east of Côte dIvoire. ... Igbo is a language spoken in Nigeria by around 18 million people (1999 WA), the Igbo, especially in the southeastern region once identified as Biafra. ... Yoruba (native name èdè Yorùbá, the Yoruba language) is a dialect continuum of West Africa with over 22 million speakers. ... Yiddish ( yidish or idish, literally: Jewish) is a non-territorial Germanic language, spoken throughout the world and written with the Hebrew alphabet. ... Reading Adahooniigii — The Navajo Language Monthly Navajo or Navaho (native name: Diné bizaad) is an Athabaskan language (of Na-Dené stock) spoken in the southwest United States by the Navajo people (Diné). It is geographically and linguistically one of the Southern Athabaskan languages (the majority of Athabaskan languages are spoken... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... Hmong (RPA: Hmoob) or Mong (RPA: Moob) is the common name for a group of dialects of the West Hmongic (Chuanqiandian) branch of the Hmong-Mien/Miao-Yao language family spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. ...

1. English - 215 million
2. Spanish - 28 million
3. Chinese languages - 2.0 million + (mostly Cantonese speakers, with a growing group of Mandarin speakers)
4. French - 1.6 million
5. German - 1.4 million (High German) + German dialects like Hutterite German, Texas German, Pennsylvania Dutch, Plautdietsch
6. Tagalog - 1.2 million + (Most Filipinos may also know other Philippine languages, e.g. Ilokano, Pangasinan, Bikol languages, and Visayan languages)
7. Vietnamese - 1.01 million
8. Italian - 1.01 million
9. Korean - 890,000
10. Russian - 710,000
11. Polish - 670,000
12. Arabic - 610,000
13. Portuguese - 560,000
14. Japanese - 480,000
15. French Creole - 450,000 (mostly Louisiana Creole French - 334,500)
16. Greek - 370,000
17. Hindi - 320,000
18. Persian - 310,000
19. Urdu - 260,000
20. Gujarati - 240,000
21. Armenian - 200,000

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... Hutterite German (Hutterisch) is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. ... Texas German is a dialect of the German language that is spoken by descendants of German immigrants who founded the town of Fredericksburg, Texas in 1846. ... Pennsylvania German, or more commonly Pennsylvania Dutch, (Deitsch, Pennsylvania Deutsch, Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch, Pennsilfaani-Deitsch, Pennsilweni-Deitsch, Pennsilfaanisch), is a West Central German variety spoken by 150,000 to 250,000 people in North America. ... Plautdietsch or Mennonite Low German, is a language (or groups of dialects of Low German) spoken in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, Belize, and Argentina by over 300,000 Mennonites, members of a religious group that fled from Holland and Belgium in the 1500s to escape... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Languages in the Philippines number more than 170 and almost all of them belong to the Western Malayo-Polynesian languages. ... To view the Ilokano edition of this Wikipedia article, select from the in other languages Ilokano (variants: Ilocano, Iluko, Iloco, and Iloko) is the third most-spoken language of the Republic of the Philippines. ... The Pangasinan language (Pangasinan: salitan Pangasinan; Spanish: idioma pangasinense) belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian languages branch of the Austronesian languages family. ... The Bikol languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. ... The Visayan languages of the Philippines, along with Tagalog and Bikol, are part of the Central Philippine language family. ... Arabic redirects here. ... A French creole, more properly French-based creole language, is a creole language with substantial influence from the French language. ... Louisiana Creole (Créole Louisiane and Kourí-Viní, as it is known in and near St. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Farsi redirects here. ... The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, and Sanskrit influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... Gujarati (ગુજરાતી GujÇŽrātÄ«; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ...

Official language status

The United States does not have a national official language; nevertheless, 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.^[7] An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ...

Many individual states and territories have adopted English as their official language:^[8]

Official language status of the various states.

English is official languages

Two or more official languages

No official language; English is de-facto language

No official language; multiple de-facto languages

• Alabama (1990)
• Alaska (1998)^[9]
• Arizona (2006)
• Arkansas (1987)
• California (1986)
• Colorado (1988)
• Florida (1988)
• Georgia (1986, 1996)
• Idaho (2007)^[10]
• Illinois (1969)^[11]
• Indiana (1984)
• Iowa (2002)^[12]
• 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, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Persian, Russian, Vietnamese, and Thai appear in official state documents, and the Department of Motor Vehicles publishes in 47 languages. This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the U.S state. ... Official language(s) English Demonym Coloradan Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th in the US  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... -1... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses, see Indiana (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses, see Nebraska (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see New Hampshire (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Dakotan Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area  Ranked 19th in the US  - Total 70,762 sq mi (183,272 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83... Official language(s) English Demonym South Dakotan Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Area  Ranked 17th in the US  - Total 77,116[1] sq mi (199,905 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 380 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Farsi redirects here. ...

Several states and territories are officially or de facto bi- or trilingual: De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

• Hawaii (English and Hawaiian) (1978)
• Louisiana (English and French legally recognized, although there is no official language)
• New Mexico (English and de facto Spanish)^[13]
• Maine (English and French both de facto)
• American Samoa (Samoan and English)
• Guam (Chamorro and English)
• Northern Mariana Islands (English, Chamorro, and 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.^[14] This article is about the U.S. State. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian language that takes its name from HawaiÊ»i, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses, see New Mexico (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Chamorro (Chamoru in Chamorro) is the native language of the Chamorro or Chamoru of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. ... Carolinian is an Austronesian language spoken in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is an official language along with English and Chamorro. ... This article is about the state. ... Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, but also by smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. ... New Netherland (Dutch Nieuw-Nederland, Latin: Nova Belgica) was the territory claimed by the Netherlands on the eastern coast of North America in the 17th century. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Native American languages are official or co-official on many of the US Indian reservations and pueblos. In Oklahoma before statehood in 1907, territory officials debated whether or not to have Cherokee, Choctaw and Muscogee languages as co-official, but the idea never gained ground. Native American languages are the indigenous languages of the Americas, spoken by Native Americans from the southern tip of South America to Alaska and Greenland. ... This article is about Native Americans. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Pueblo Indians . ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... Original distribution of the Cherokee language Cherokee (; Tsalagi) is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. ... The Choctaw language, traditionally spoken by the Native American Choctaw people of the southeastern United States, is a member of the Muskogean family. ... The Creek language, also known as Muscogee (Mvskoke in Creek), is a Muskogean language spoken by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Seminole Indians in Florida and Oklahoma. ...

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. For other uses, see New Mexico (disambiguation). ...

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 Mexican Cession (red) and the Gadsden Purchase (orange). ... The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane) was the acquisition by the United States of America of 828,000 square miles (2,140,000 km²) of French territory (Louisiana) in 1803. ... The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 (formally titled the Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits Between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty, and also known as the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, and sometimes the Florida Treaty) was a historic agreement between the United States and Spain... The Gadsden Purchase (shown with present-day state boundaries and cities) The Gadsden Purchase (known as Venta de La Mesilla in Mexico) is a 45,535 mi² (76,770 km²) region of what is today southern Arizona and New Mexico that was purchased by the United States from Mexico in... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

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 November 7, 2006 general election declaring English as the official language.^[15] But historical bilingual representation existed in the Southwest states. The term bilingualism (from bi meaning two and lingua meaning language) can refer to rather different phenomena. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. ...

In 2000, the census bureau printed the standard census questionnaires in six languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese (in traditional characters), Vietnamese, and Tagalog. Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ...

On May 19, 2006, the United States Senate voted to make 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. is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A national language is a language (or language variant, i. ... James Mountain Inhofe (born November 17, 1934) is an American politician from Oklahoma. ... The term multilingualism can refer to rather different phenomena. ... Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American politician, rancher, and environmentalist from the U.S. state of Colorado. ...

The English-only movement seeks to establish English as the only official language of the entire nation despite Treaty obligations to the contrary.^{[citation needed]} English-only movement, called also Official English movement by its supporters, refers to a political movement for the use only of English language in public occasions through the establishing of English as the explicitly only official language in the United States. ...

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 reservations), they continue to be spoken fluently. Most of these languages are 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. Native American languages are the indigenous languages of the Americas, spoken by Native Americans from the southern tip of South America to Alaska and Greenland. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... This article is about Native Americans. ... An endangered language is a language with so few surviving speakers that it is in danger of falling out of use. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... For other uses, see New Mexico (disambiguation). ...

The U.S. (and North America in general) is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, as Edward Sapir observes: Edward Sapir (IPA: ), (January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American anthropologist-linguist, a leader in American structural linguistics, and one of the creators of what is now called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. ...

"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."

According to the 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 is one of the Athabascan languages of the Na-Dené family. Along with the closely related Apache, the Navajo were first. Reading Adahooniigii — The Navajo Language Monthly Navajo or Navaho (native name: Diné bizaad) is an Athabaskan language (of Na-Dené stock) spoken in the southwest United States by the Navajo people (Diné). It is geographically and linguistically one of the Southern Athabaskan languages (the majority of Athabaskan languages are spoken... Pre-contact distribution of Na-Dené languages (in red) Na-Dené (also Na-Dene, Nadene, Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit) is a Native American language family which includes the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit. ...

Dakota

Dakota has 18,000 speakers (22,000 including speakers in Canada), not counting 6,000 speakers of the closely related Lakota. Dakota is a member of the Siouan language family. Lakota or Lakhota (as it is also commonly spelled) is the largest of the five major dialects of the Sioux language. ... Lakota (also Lakhota, Teton, Teton Sioux) is the largest of the three languages of the Sioux, of the Siouan family. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Siouan languages The Siouan (a. ...

Central Alaskan Yup'ik

Central Alaskan Yup'ik has 16,000 speakers. The Yup'ik are part of the Eskimo-Aleut language family but are not Inuit. The Yupik (Yupik/Юпик) people speak several distinct languages, depending on their location. ... Eskimo-Aleut languages Eskimo-Aleut is a language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. ...

Cherokee

Cherokee, which has 16,000 speakers, belongs to the 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. Original distribution of the Cherokee language Cherokee (; Tsalagi) is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. ... Insert non-formatt#REDIRECT [[stinky]]ed text here Pre-European contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages. ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ...

Western Apache

Western Apache, with 12,500 speakers, is a Southern Athabaskan language closely related to Navajo, but not mutually intelligible with it. Southern Athabaskan (also Apachean) is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the North American Southwest (including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Sonora) with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas. ...

Piman

Piman dialects (Pima and Tohono O'odham) have more than 12,000 speakers. Piman is one of the Uto-Aztecan languages along with Hopi, Comanche, Huichol, and Aztec. Oodham (often referred to by the names of its two nearly-identical main dialect groupings, Papago (Tohono) and Pima (Akimel)) is an Uto-Aztecan language of Southern Arizona and northern Sonora where the Tohono Oodham and Pima reside. ... Pre-contact distribution of Northern Uto-Aztecan languages (note: this map does not show the distribution in Mexico) Uto-Aztecan (also Uto-Aztekan) is a Native American language family. ... Hopi is an Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of northeastern Arizona, USA, although today some Hopi are monolingual English speakers. ... The Comanche language is a member of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. ... Huichol yarn painting The Huichol are an indigenous ethnic group of Western Central Mexico that live in the Sierra Madre Occidental. ... Nahuatl ( [1] is a term applied to a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan [2] branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, indigenous to central Mexico. ...

Choctaw

Choctaw has 11,000 speakers. One of the Muskogean language family, like Seminole and Alabama. The Choctaw language, traditionally spoken by the Native American Choctaw people of the southeastern United States, is a member of the Muskogean family. ... Pre-contact distribution of Muskogean languages Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a language family of the Southeastern United States. ... The Creek language, also known as Muscogee (Mvskoke in Creek), is a Muskogean language spoken by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Seminole Indians in Florida and Oklahoma. ... The Alabama language is a Native American language, spoken by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas. ...

Keres

Keres has 11,000 speakers. A language isolate, the Keres are the largest of the Pueblo nations. The Keres pueblo of Acoma is the oldest continually inhabited community in the United States. Keresan languages Keresan (also Keres) is a group of seven related lects spoken by Pueblo peoples in New Mexico, U.S.A.. Each is mutually intelligible with its closest neighbors. ... A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical (or genetic) relationship with other living languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common to any other language. ... Photograph of Enchanted Mesa taken from Aaku - 1899 Acoma Pueblo (Western Keresan dialect: Aaku; Zuni: Hakukya), also known as Sky City, is a Native American pueblo built on top of a 367-foot (112 m) sandstone mesa in the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

Zuni

Zuni has 10,000 speakers. Zuni is a language isolate mostly spoken in a single pueblo, Zuni, the largest in the U.S. Zuni language Zuni (also Zuñi or Shiwi) is spoken by over 10,000 people in New Mexico and much smaller numbers in parts of Arizona. ... Zuni Pueblo, 1850 illustration. ...

Ojibwe

Ojibwe has 7,000 speakers (about 55,000 including speakers in Canada). The Algonquian language family includes populous languages like Cree in Canada. Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa or Anishinaabemowin in Eastern Ojibwe syllabics) is the third most commonly spoken Native language in Canada (after Cree and Inuktitut), and the fourth most spoken in North America (behind Navajo, Cree, and Inuktitut). ... The Algic (also Algonquian-Wiyot-Yurok or Algonquian-Ritwan) languages are an indigenous language family of North America. ... Cree (also known as Cree-Montagnais, Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi) is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Labrador, making it by far the most spoken aboriginal language 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.^{[citation needed]}

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. The Algic (also Algonquian-Wiyot-Yurok or Algonquian-Ritwan) languages are an indigenous language family of North America. ... The Alsean (also Yakonan) language family consists of two closely related languages that were spoken along the central Oregon coast. ... Areas in which Athabaskan languages and Eyak and Tlingit are traditionally spoken Athabaskan or Athabascan (also Athapascan or Athapaskan) is the name of a large group of distantly related Native American peoples, also known as the Athabasca Indians or Athapaskes, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western... The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. ... The Chimakuan language family consists of two languages that are spoken in northwestern Washington, USA on the Olympic Peninsula. ... Oregon Penutian is a language family in the Penutian language phylum comprising languages spoken at one time by several groups of Native Americans in present-day western Oregon and western Washington in the United States. ... Rafael, a Chumash in the 1800s Pre-contact distribution of the Chumash The Chumash are a Native American tribe who historically inhabit mainly the southern coastal regions of California, in the vicinity of what is now Santa Barbara and Ventura, extending as far south as Malibu. ... The Coosan (also Coos or Kusan) language family consists of two languages spoken along the southern Oregon coast: Hanis Miluk (a. ... Comecrudan languages Comecrudan refers to a group of possibly related languages spoken in the southernmost part of Texas and in northern Mexico along the Rio Grande. ... Eskimo-Aleut languages Eskimo-Aleut is a language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. ... Insert non-formatt#REDIRECT [[stinky]]ed text here Pre-European contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages. ... The Kalapuya (also spelled Calapooya or Calapooia) are a Native American ethnic group that once inhabited the area present-day western Oregon in the United States. ... Kiowa-Tanoan languages Kiowa-Tanoan (also Tanoan-Kiowa) is a family of languages spoken in New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. ... The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California. ... Pre-contact distribution of Muskogean languages Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a language family of the Southeastern United States. ... Palaihnihan is a language family consisting of two languages: Atsugewi Achumawi The Palaihnihan family is often connected with the hypothetical Hokan stock. ... Pre-contact distribution of Plateau Penutian languages Plateau Penutian (also Shahapwailutan) is a family of languages spoken in northern California, reaching through central-western Oregon to northern Washington and central-northern Idaho. ... Pomoan is a family of endangered languages spoken in northern California on the Pacific coast. ... The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a group of languages of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... Pre-contact distribution of Shastan languages The Shastan (also Sastean) family consisted of four languages, spoken in present-day northern California and southern Oregon. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Siouan languages The Siouan (a. ... The Tsimshian, usually pronounced in English as // (SIM-shee-an), translated as People Inside the Skeena River, are Indigenous, or Native American and First Nation people who live around Terrace and Prince Rupert, on the north coast of British Columbia and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. ... Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan) is language family consisting of Miwokan languages and Costanoan languages. ... Pre-contact distribution of Northern Uto-Aztecan languages (note: this map does not show the distribution in Mexico) Uto-Aztecan (also Uto-Aztekan) is a Native American language family. ... Wakashan is a family of languages spoken around Vancouver Island. ... The Wintu (also Northern Wintun) are Native Americans who lived in what is now Northern California. ... Yokutsan (also Yokuts) is a family of languages spoken in the interior of southern California in and around the San Joaquin valley. ... Yuman-Cochimí languages Yuman-Cochimí is a family of languages spoken in Baja California and northern Sonora in Mexico and southern California and southwestern Arizona in the USA. Genetic relations The Yuman-Cochimí family consists of 11 languages: I. Cochimí 1. ... The Penutian is a phylum (or stock) of language families that include many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in Washington, Oregon, and California. ... The Hokan languages are a group of languages spoken in North America by Native Americans. ...

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. Adai (also Adaizan, Adaizi, Adaise, Adahi, Adaes, Adees, Atayos) is the name of a people and language that was spoken in eastern Louisiana. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Atakapa language Atakapa is an extinct language isolate native to southwestern Louisiana and nearby eastern Texas. ... For other uses, see Cayuse (disambiguation). ... Pre-contact distribution of Chimariko Chimariko is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in Trinity County in northwestern California by Chimariko peoples. ... Chitimacha The Chitimacha (also Chitimachan, Chetimacha) are a Native American group that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. ... Coahuilteco (also Pajalate) was a language isolate that was spoken in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. ... Esselen The Esselen were the Native American inhabitants of what is now known as Big Sur on the Central Coast of California. ... This article is about the people. ... Karankawa A group of Native American peoples, now extinct, known collectively as the Karankawa (also Karankawan, Clamcoëhs, and called in their language Auia), played a pivotal part in early Texas history. ... Karuk (also Karok) are an indigenous people of California in the United States. ... The Keres language is a group of seven related dialects spoken by Pueblo peoples in New Mexico, U.S.A. Each is mutually intelligible with its neighbors. ... The Kootenai (also spelled Kutenai) or Ktunaxa (pronounced in English as ) are an indigenous people of North America. ... Pre-contact distribution of Natchez peoples Although suffering a turbulent history since European contact, the Natchez Nation still represents a vital part of the United States Native American community. ... The Salinan Native Americans lived in what is now Northern California, in the Salinas Valley. ... Siuslaw is one of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw located on the southwest Oregon Pacific coast in the United States. ... Takelma was the language spoken by the Takelma people. ... Pre-contact distribution of Timucua One of the sketches by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues showing a Timucua village The Timucua were an American Indian people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. ... Seal of the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a people native to central Texas, speaking the Tonkawa language. ... The Tunica (or Tonica) language was a language isolate spoken in present-day Louisiana in the United States. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Washo language The Washo language (also Washoe) is an endangered Native American language isolate spoken by the Washoe on the California-Nevada border in the drainages of Truckee and Carson rivers, especially around Lake Tahoe. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Yana language Yana is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in north-central California between the Feather and Pit rivers in what is now Shasta and Tehama counties. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Yuchi Language The Yuchi language is the language of the Yuchi people living in the southeastern United States, including eastern Tennessee, western Carolinas, northern Georgia and Alabama, in the period of early European colonization. ... The Yuki (also Yukian, Ukiah, Ukomnom) language was a Yuki-Wappo language of California spoken by the Yuki Indians. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Zuni language Zuni (also Zuñi or Shiwi) is spoken by over 10,000 people in New Mexico and much smaller numbers in parts of Arizona. ...

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, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Unlike other sign languages developed by hearing people, it shares the spatial grammar of deaf sign languages. This article is about economic exchange. ... This article is about simplified languages. ... Plains Indian Sign Language is a sign language formerly used as an interlanguage between Native Americans of the Great Plains of the United States of America and Canada. ... The three chiefs--Piegan, by Edward S. Curtis The Plains Indians are the Indians who lived on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. ... For other uses, see Great Plains (disambiguation). ... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944... The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone river valley and now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana, and the current chairman of the tribal council is Carl Venne. ... Cheyenne lodges with buffalo meat drying, 1870 The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains, closely allied with the Arapaho and loosely allied with the Lakota (Sioux). ... Scabby Bull, Arapaho 1806 Arapaho camp, ca. ...

Austronesian languages

Hawaiian

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. The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian language that takes its name from HawaiÊ»i, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Constitution of Hawaii refers to various legal documents throughout the history of the Hawaiian Islands that defined the fundamental principles of authority and governance within its sphere of jurisdiction. ... The Hawaii State Department of Education is the most centralized and only statewide public education system in the United States. ... This article is about the University of Hawaii system. ... Hawaii Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano speaks before a special session of the legislature on January 24, 2000. ... Māori or Te Reo Māori,[1] commonly shortened to Te Reo (literally the language) functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. ... Tahitian, a Tahitic language, is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia (along with French). ...

Samoan

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

Chamorro

Chamorro is co-official in the Mariana Islands, both in the territory of Guam and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In Guam, the Chamorro people make up about 60% of the population. Chamorro (Chamoru in Chamorro) is the native language of the Chamorro or Chamoru of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. ... For other uses of Commonwealth, see Commonwealth. ...

Carolinian

Carolinian is also co-official in the Northern Marianas, where only 14% of people speak English at home. Carolinian is an Austronesian language spoken in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is an official language along with English and Chamorro. ...

Immigrant languages

A trash can in Seattle labeled in four languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese (incorrectly), and Spanish/Tagalog.

Some of the first European languages to be spoken in the U.S. are English, Dutch, German, French, and Spanish. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1168x1760, 531 KB) Summary A trash can in Seattle having a label with 4 languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1168x1760, 531 KB) Summary A trash can in Seattle having a label with 4 languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. ... A waste container (known more commonly in British English as a dustbin and American English as a trash can) is a container, which can be made out of metal or plastic¹, used to store refuse. ... Seattle redirects here. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ...

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, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Greek, Polish, Swedish, Romanian, Czech, Japanese, Yiddish, Hebrew, Lithuanian, Welsh, Cantonese, Bulgarian, 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). Yiddish ( yidish or idish, literally: Jewish) is a non-territorial Germanic language, spoken throughout the world and written with the Hebrew alphabet. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... This article is on all of the Yue dialects. ... Holding The Court held that a 1919 Nebraska law prohibiting the teaching of modern foreign languages to grade school children unconstitutionally violated the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment. ...

Currently, Asian languages account for the majority of languages spoken in immigrant communities: Korean, various Chinese languages, and various Indian or South Asian languages like Hindi/Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telgu, Kannada, Arabic, Vietnamese, Tagalog, 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 Southwest (Spanish) who have maintained their languages for centuries. Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... -1... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Gujarati (ગુજરાતી GujÇŽrātÄ«; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Punjabi (also Panjabi; in GurmukhÄ«, PanjābÄ« in ShāhmukhÄ«) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. ... Bangla redirects here. ... Tamil ( ; IPA: ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people, originating on the Indian subcontinent. ... Telugu may refer to: Telugu language Telugu script Telugu people This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... “Kannada” redirects here. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Farsi redirects here. ... Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ... The Pennsylvania Dutch (perhaps more strictly Pennsylvania Deitsch or Pennsylvanian German) are the descendants of German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania prior to 1800. ... The Southwest region of the United States is drier than the adjoining Midwest in weather; the population is less dense and, with strong Spanish-American and Native American components, more ethnically varied than neighboring areas. ...

English

Main article: American English

English was inherited from 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. For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... British colonization of the Americas (including colonization under the Kingdom of England before the 1707 Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain) began in the late 16th century, before reaching its peak after colonies were established throughout the Americas, and a protectorate was established in Hawaii. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ...

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. Image File history File links English_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ Summary The language spread of English in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links English_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ Summary The language spread of English in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... This article is about the U.S state. ... First German driving school in 1906, Aschaffenburg Current EU driving licence, German version - front 1. ...

Spanish

Spanish language spread in the United States.

Main article: Spanish in the United States

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 in New York City or Little Havana in Miami) in which entire city blocks will have only Spanish language signs and Spanish-speaking people. Image File history File links Spanish_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Spanish in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Spanish_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Spanish in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Spanish is the second most-common language in the United States after English. ... A second language (L2) is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1). ... The Southwest could be defined as the states south, or for the most part west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit, such as the 37, or 38, or 39, or 40 degree north line. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the state. ... Nagle Avenue Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Little Havana (Spanish: La Pequeña Habana) is a section of Miami, Florida, where many Cuban immigrants and refugees (often fleeing Fidel Castros government) settled. ... Miami redirects here. ...

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.^[16]

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 (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), Florida, and New York City. For the James L. Brooks motion picture, see Spanglish (film). ... Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to using more than one language or dialect in conversation. ... The international border between Mexico and the United States runs a total of 3,141 km (1,951 miles) from San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. ... This article is about the U.S state. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... For other uses, see New Mexico (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Chinese

Chinese, mostly of the 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.^[17] 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 some variety of Chinese, with the Mandarin variety becoming increasingly more prevalent due to the opening up of the PRC.^[17] This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... A Chinese American is an American who is of ethnic Chinese descent. ... This article is about the U.S state. ... Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Chinese forms part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ...

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.^[18] New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ...

French

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 article: French in the United States

French, the fourth most-common language, is spoken mainly by the native French, Cajun Haitian or French-Canadian populations. It is widely spoken in Maine, New Hampshire, and in Louisiana. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (693x773, 47 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): French language Languages of the United States French in the United States ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (693x773, 47 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): French language Languages of the United States French in the United States ... Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French [2]) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. ... A French creole, more properly French-based creole language, is a creole language with substantial influence from the French language. ... French language spread in the United States. ... Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other ethnicities with whom the Acadians eventually intermarried on the semitropical frontier. ... Canadiens redirects here. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... For other uses, see New Hampshire (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

French is the second de facto official language in the state of Louisiana (where the French dialect of Cajun predominates). The largest French-speaking communities in the United States reside in Northeast Maine; Hollywood and Miami, Florida; New York City; certain areas of rural Louisiana; and small minorities in Vermont and New Hampshire. Many of the New England communities are connected to the dialect found across the border in Quebec. More than 13 million Americans possess primary French heritage, but only 1.6 million speak that language. This article is about the U.S. State. ... Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French [2]) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Nickname: Coordinates: , Country United States State Florida County Broward Established 28 November 1925 Government  - Type Commission-Manager  - Mayor Mara Giulianti Area  - City  30. ... Miami redirects here. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

German

Main article: German in the United States

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. Disambiguation: This article is about the language known as German as it is spoken in the United States. ... Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

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 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 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 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 Americans 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.
See also: Hutterite German, Texas German, Pennsylvania Dutchified English, Plautdietsch. Image File history File links German_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of German in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links German_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of German in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... This article is about Old Order Amish, but also refers to other Amish sects. ... Pennsylvania German, or more commonly Pennsylvania Dutch, (Deitsch, Pennsylvania Deutsch, Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch, Pennsilfaani-Deitsch, Pennsilweni-Deitsch, Pennsilfaanisch), is a West Central German variety spoken by 150,000 to 250,000 people in North America. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Ethnic Germans (German: ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be of German origin ethnically, do not live within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, nor necessarily hold its citizenship. ... The German exodus from Eastern Europe refers to the exodus of ethnic German populations from lands to the east of present-day Germany and Austria. ... Eastern Europe is a concept that lacks one precise definition. ... The term Wirtschaftswunder (English: economic miracle) designates the upturn experienced in the West German and Austrian economies after the Second World War. ... German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... Hutterite German (Hutterisch) is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. ... Texas German is a dialect of the German language that is spoken by descendants of German immigrants who founded the town of Fredericksburg, Texas in 1846. ... Pennsylvania Dutchified English is a dialect of English that has been influenced by Pennsylvania German (Pennsylavania Deitsch). ... Plautdietsch or Mennonite Low German, is a language (or groups of dialects of Low German) spoken in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, Belize, and Argentina by over 300,000 Mennonites, members of a religious group that fled from Holland and Belgium in the 1500s to escape...

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.^[19] The myth also extends to German being the second official language of Pennsylvania; however, Pennsylvania does not have an official language.

Tagalog

Tagalog language spread in the United States.

Tagalog speakers were already present in the United States as early as the late sixteenth century as sailors contracted by the Spanish colonial government. In the eighteenth century, they established settlements in Louisiana, such as Saint Malo. Image File history File links Tagalog_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ Summary The language spread of Tagalog in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Tagalog_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ Summary The language spread of Tagalog in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Saint Malo was a small fishing village that existed in St. ...

After the 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 repatriated. Belligerents United States Philippine Constabulary Philippine Scouts First Philippine Republic several groups post-1902 Commanders William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt Emilio Aguinaldo Miguel Malvar several unofficial leaders post-1902 Strength 126,000 soldiers[1] First Philippine Republic: 80,000 soldiers Casualties and losses ~5,000-7,000[1][2] ~12,000... Philippine independence refers to the struggles of the Filipinos for independence from colonial rule —first by Spain, and then by the United States. ... The Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935 called for the United States government to pressure Filipinos to return to the Philippines by offering them free passage back to their native country. ...

Today, Tagalog, together with its standardized form Filipino, is spoken by over a million Filipino Americans, and is promoted by Filipino American civic organizations and Philippine consulates. In 1998, Benjamin J. Cayetano became the first Filipino American (and second Asian American after Governor George R. Ariyoshi) to be elected state Governor of the United States. ...

Taglish, a form of code-switching between Tagalog and English, is also spoken by a number of Filipino Americans. Taglish, a portmanteau of the words Tagalog and English, is an informal dialect of Tagalog in the Philippines that infuses English terms. ... Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between one or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. ...

As the Filipinos became the second fastest growing Asian population in the United States, Tagalog easily became the second most spoken Asian language in the continent. Today, 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. Asian people[1] is a demonym for people from Asia. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... There are a wide variety of languages spoken thoughout Asia, comprising a number of families and unrelated isolate languages. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Entrance to UH Manoa Campus UH Campus University of Hawaii, Upper Campus The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system. ... Berkeley Davis Irvine Los Angeles Merced Riverside San Diego Santa Barbara Santa Cruz UC Office of the President in Oakland The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. ...

As Tagalog is the basis of Filipino, most of all the Filipinos living in the United States are proficient in Tagalog. Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ...

Ilocano

Like the Tagalogs, the Ilocanos are an Austronesian stock which came from the Philippines. They were the first Filipinos to migrate en masse to the United States. They first entered the State of Hawai'i and worked there in the vast plantations. The Tagalogs are one of the largest Filipino ethnic groups. ... The Ilocano or Ilokano people are the third largest Filipino ethnic group. ... The Austronesian languages are a family of languages widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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 speakers. Map of the Philippines showing the island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. ... Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ... Ilocano, also Iloko and Ilokano, refers to the language and culture associated with the Ilocano people, the third largest ethnic group in the Philippines. ...

Like Tagalog, Ilocano is also being taught in universities where most of the Filipinos reside. Tagalog (pronounced ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Ilocano, also Iloko and Ilokano, refers to the language and culture associated with the Ilocano people, the third largest ethnic group in the Philippines. ...

Italian

Current distribution of the Italian language in the United States.

Main article: 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.^[20] 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 and Neapolitan in particular) in some of the areas on the map at right. The Italian language has been a widely spoken language in the United States of America for more than one hundred years, due to large-scale immigration beginning in the late 19th century. ... Italian ( , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people,[4] primarily in Italy. ... Sicilian (, Italian: ) is a Romance language. ... Neapolitan (autonym: napulitano; Italian: ) is a Romance language spoken in the city and region of Naples, Campania (Neapolitan: Nàpule, Italian: Napoli); close dialects are spoken throughout most of southern Italy, including the Gaeta and Sora districts of southern Lazio, parts of Abruzzo, Molise, Basilicata, northern Calabria, and northern and...

Russian

Russian language spread in the United States.

The Russian language is frequently spoken in areas of Alaska, Los Angeles, Seattle, 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 tsars. The largest Russian-speaking neighborhoods in the United States are found in Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island in New York City (specifically the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn) and in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. Image File history File links Russian_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Russian in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Russian_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Russian in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Russian ( , transliteration: , Russian pronunciation: ) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe. ... For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Seattle redirects here. ... Miami redirects here. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... The Russian-American Company was a semi-official colonial trading company started by Grigory Shelikhov and Nikolai Rezanov and chartered by tsar Paul I in 1799. ... Alaska Territory was an organized territory of the United States from August 24, 1912 to January 3, 1959, when Alaska became the 49th state. ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought... The House of Romanov (Рома́нов, pronounced ) was the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia, which ruled the country for five generations from 1613 to 1761. ... Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian  , in scientific transliteration respectively car and car ), occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term designating certain monarchs. ... Queens is geographically the largest of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States, and the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. It is coterminous with Queens County in the State of New York and is located on western Long Island. ... This article is about the New York City borough, or Kings County, New York. ... This article is about the borough in New York City. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida Coordinates: , Country State County Established 1997 Government  - Type Manager-Commission  - Mayor Norman S. Edelcup Area  - Total 1. ...

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 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. Yiddish ( yidish or idish, literally: Jewish) is a non-territorial Germanic language, spoken throughout the world and written with the Hebrew alphabet. ... Languages English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian Religion Judaism Related ethnic groups Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, pronounced , sing. ...

Dutch

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. Image File history File links Dutch_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Dutch in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Dutch_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Dutch in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... This article is about the Dutch United Provinces. ... This article is about the trading company. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives...

In 1609, 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. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... No portrait of Hudson is known to be in existence. ... , The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois,[1][2][3] or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami, Muhheakantuck, Θkahnéhtati[4] in Tuscarora), is a river that runs through the eastern portion of New York State and... New York Harbor, the outflow for Hudson River, is sometimes called Hudsons Bay. Hudson Bay, Canada. ...

After some early trading expeditions, the first settlement was founded in 1615: Fort Nassau, on Castle Island, near present-day Albany. The settlement served mostly as a trade post for fur trade with the natives and was later replaced by Fort Oranje (or Fort Orange) at present-day Albany. The name Fort Nassau was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications, mostly trading stations, named for the House of Orange-Nassau. ... Castle Island is a 22 acre (89,000 m²) major recreation site located in South Boston on Boston Harbor, owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. ... For other uses, see Albany. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States and their history after European contact, chiefly in what is now the United States. ... Fort Orange (also Fort Oranje or Fort Oranije) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New York. ... Fort Orange (Dutch: Fort Oranje or Fort Oranije) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland. ...

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. World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Dutch West India Company (Dutch: West-Indische Compagnie or WIC) was a company of Dutch merchants. ... States which were part of New Netherlands Map based on Adriaen Blocks 1614 expedition to New Netherland, featuring the first use of the name. ...

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) and Fort Beversrede (Philadelphia). In 1655, the main settlement of New Sweden, Fort Christina, was captured after the 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. Peter Minuit Peter Minuit == Life and work == Minuits Walloon family, originally from the city of Tournai, was one of many Protestant families that fled persecution from the Roman Catholic government of the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium), and found refuge in the Dutch Republic and Protestant parts of the... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... This article is about the settlement in present-day New York City. ... The name Fort Nassau was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications, mostly trading stations, named for the House of Orange-Nassau. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Fort Casimir was a Dutch settlement in New Netherland, located in what is now New Castle County, Delaware. ... New Castle is a city located in New Castle County, Delaware. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... New Sweden, or Nya Sverige, was a small Swedish settlement along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America. ... Fort Christina was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. ...

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. For other uses, see York (disambiguation). ... James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701)[2] was King of England, King of Scots,[1] and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685 to 11 December 1688. ... Pieter Stuyvesant is also the name of a Dutch cigarette brand from Imperial Tobacco. ... This article is about the settlement in present-day New York City. ... Fort Orange (Dutch: Fort Oranje or Fort Oranije) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland. ... This article is about the state. ... Fort Orange (Dutch: Fort Oranje or Fort Oranije) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland. ... Fort Albany may refer to: Fort Albany, Ontario in Canada a fort established by the British on the current site of Albany, New York This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

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. Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. ... Native Language Music, founded in 1996 by musicians Joe Sherbanee and Theo Bishop, is an independent adult contemporary record company based in Southern California that produces, markets, and distributes premium jazz, world, and new age music. ... “Native Language” redirects here. ...

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. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Map showing the population density of Americans who declared Scottish ancestory in the census. ... Swedish-Americans are the Americans with Swedish heritage, most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

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. For other persons named Theodore Roosevelt, see Theodore Roosevelt (disambiguation). ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (IPA: ; October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. ... New Netherland (Dutch Nieuw-Nederland, Latin: Nova Belgica) was the territory claimed by the Netherlands on the eastern coast of North America in the 17th century. ... This article is about the state. ...

Only 150,000 people in the United States still speak the Dutch language at home today^[21], concentrated mainly in Michigan (i.e. the city of 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 settlement history since the 1840s. Holland is a city in the western region of the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States. ... San Joaquin County is a county located in Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... The Roman historian Tacitus, in his Germania, mentioned the Frisians among people he grouped together as the Ingvaeones. ...

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. Jersey Dutch was a variant of the Dutch language spoken in and around Bergen and Passaic counties in New Jersey from the late 1600s until the early 20th century. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Swedish

Swedish language spread in the United States.

New Sweden, or Nya Sverige, was a 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. Image File history File links Swedish_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Swedish in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Swedish_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Swedish in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... New Sweden, or Nya Sverige, was a small Swedish settlement along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America. ...

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, which they named Fort Christina, after 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. For other uses, see Gothenburg (disambiguation). ... New Netherland (Dutch Nieuw-Nederland, Latin: Nova Belgica) was the territory claimed by the Netherlands on the eastern coast of North America in the 17th century. ... : Chemical Capital of the World , Corporate Capital of the World , Credit Card Capital of the World : A Place to Be Somebody United States Delaware New Castle 17. ... Christina (Swedish: ) (8 December[1] 1626 – 19 April 1689), later known as Maria Christina Alexandra and sometimes Countess Dohna, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. ...

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. Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Largest metro area Minneapolis-St. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ...

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^[22]. 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. Not to be confused with Intermarriage. ...

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. Andersonville is the name of some places in the United States of America: Andersonville, Chicago Andersonville, Georgia, the site of the Civil War POW camp Andersonville is also the name of a novel by MacKinlay Kantor that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956. ...

John Morton, the person who cast the decisive vote leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, was a Swedish-speaking Finn. John Morton (1724-1777) from Ridley Township, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania was the delegate who cast the deciding vote in favor of the United States Declaration of Independence. ... The United States Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were Free and Independent States and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to...  Officially monolingual Finnish-speaking municipalities (Sami bilingual municipalities not shown)  Bilingual municipalities with Finnish as the majority language  Bilingual municipalities with Swedish as the majority language  Monolingual Swedish-speaking municipalities (including Ã…land) More than 17,000 Swedish Finns live in officially monolingual Finnish municipalities, and are thus not represented on...

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.^[23]. For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Warsaw (disambiguation) and Warszawa (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Polonia (disambiguation). ...

Finnish

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. Image File history File links Finnish_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Finnish in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Finnish_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Finnish in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... New Sweden, or Nya Sverige, was a small Swedish settlement along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America. ...

Shortly after the Civil War, many Finnish citizens 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^[24]. Americans of Finnish origin yield at 800,000 individuals, though only 39,770 speak the language at home^[25]. There is a distinctive dialect of English to be found in the Upper Peninsula, known as 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. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Citizenship in Finland can be obtained on the basis of birth, marriage of parents, adoption, or the place of birth. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, also known as The Upper Peninsula, The U.P. (or The UP), and Above the Bridge by Michiganders, refers to the northern peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Hancock is a city in Houghton County. ... Finnish Americans are Americans of Finnish descent, who currently number at about 700,000. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Gus Hall Gus Hall (October 8, 1910 – October 13, 2000) was a labor organizer, a founder of the United Steelworkers of America trade union, a leader of the Communist Party USA, and five-time U.S. presidential candidate. ... Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola on March 15, 1959 in Riihimäki, Finland) is a film director and producer mostly known for action movies. ... Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian/American[1] actress, sex symbol, glamour model, producer, TV personality, and author. ... Location of Lake Worth, in Palm Beach County, Florida Lake Worth is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, named after a lake who takes its name from General William J. Worth, who led U.S. forces during the Second Seminole War. ...

Welsh

Welsh language spread in the United States.

Up to two million Americans are thought to have Welsh ancestry. However, there is very little Welsh being used commonly in the USA. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 2,649 people speak Welsh at home^[26] Some place names, such as Bryn Mawr in Chicago and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (English: Big Hill) are Welsh. Several towns in Pennsylvania, mostly in the Welsh Tract, have Welsh namesakes, including Uwchlan, Bala Cynwyd, and Tredyffrin. Image File history File links Welsh_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Welsh in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Image File history File links Welsh_USC2000_PHS.svg‎ [edit] Summary The language spread of Welsh in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... 2000 US Census logo The Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13. ... The Edgewater Beach Apartments, built in 1927 The Bryn Mawr Historic District is a lakefront enclave of the Edgewater neighborhood community of far-north Chicago in Illinois. ... Bryn Mawr is in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, along U.S. Highway Route 30 (Lancaster Avenue). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Welsh Tract, also called the Welsh Barony, was a portion of Pennsylvania settled largely by Welsh-speaking Quakers. ... Uwchlan Township is a township located in Chester County, Pennsylvania. ... Bala Cynwyd is a village in Lower Merion Township which is located in the Main Line in southeastern Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. ... Tredyffrin Township (Welsh: Tre (town) + Dyffryn (valley)) is a township located in eastern Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 29,062 at the 2000 census. ...

Scottish Gaelic

In the 17th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of Scots from Scotland, and 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 speakers in North America (Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland). According to the 2000 census, 1,610 people speak Scottish Gaelic at home.^[27]. This article is about the Scottish people as an ethnic group. ... This article is about the country. ... Ulster-Scots is a term mainly used in Ireland and Britain (Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irishis commonly used in North America) primarily to refer to Presbyterian Scots, or their descendents, who migrated from the Scottish Lowlands to Ulster (the northern province of Ireland), largely across the 17th century. ... This article is about the constituent country. ... ... Motto: Munit Hae et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Regional Municipality Largest metro Halifax Regional Municipality Official languages English (de facto), French Government Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 11 Senate... // Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ...

New American languages, dialects, and creoles

Several languages have developed on American soil, including creoles and sign languages. A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originates seemingly as a nativized pidgin. ... Two sign language Intepreters working as a team for a school. ...

Gullah

Gullah, an English-African creole language spoken on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, retains strong influences of West African languages. The language is sometimes referred to as "Geechee". The Gullah language (Sea Island Creole English, Geechee) is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called Geechees), an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S. states of South Carolina and Georgia. ... The Sea Islands are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83...

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. Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to throughout most of Texas. ...

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. For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ...

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. Hawaii Pidgin English, Hawaii Creole English, HCE, or simply Pidgin, is a creole language based in part on English used by most local residents of Hawaii (Hawaiian Pidgin English is considered an inaccurate label). ... Hawaiian English is the standard of the English language as used in the State of Hawaii, and is—along with the Hawaiian language—an official language of the state. ...

Sign languages

See also: Languages in the United States#Native American sign languages.

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

// Although the United States currently has no official language, it is largely monolingual with English being the de facto national language. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

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. Marthas Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) is a sign language (now extinct), once widely used on the island of Marthas Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, U.S., from the early 18th century to the mid 20th century. ... French Sign Language (Langue des Signes Français or LSF) is the language of the deaf in the nation of France. ...

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. It has been suggested that ASL Grammar be merged into this article or section. ... The word deaf can have very different meanings depending on the background of the person speaking or the context in which the word is used. ... Various attempts to develop a signed mode of the English language have been developed for use in deaf education. ...

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. Hawaii Pidgin Sign Language is a sign language used in Hawaii. ...

Artificial languages

Esperanto

Esperanto is a constructed 'international' language, developed by L. L. Zamenhof, a Jewish-Polish oculist in Warsaw, the capital of the Russian 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. This article is about the language. ... A constructed or artificial language — known colloquially as a conlang — is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary have been devised by an individual or group, instead of having naturally evolved as part of a culture. ... Ludvic Lazarus (Ludwik Lejzer, Ludwik Łazarz) Zamenhof (December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was a Polish eye doctor, philologist, and the virtual inventor of Esperanto, the most widely spoken and successful constructed languages designed for international communication among speakers of all languages. ... For other uses, see Warsaw (disambiguation) and Warszawa (disambiguation). ... The city of Emeryville highlighted within Alameda County Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. ...

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 in the United States
• Japanese language education in the United States

Language Spoken at Home is a data set published by the United States Census Bureau on languages in the United States. ... This article is about the high culture and popular culture of the United States. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... Bilingual education involves teaching all subjects in school through two different languages - in the United States, instruction occurs in English and a minority language, such as Spanish or Chinese, with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model. ... Spanish is the second most-common language in the United States after English. ... French language spread in the United States. ... Disambiguation: This article is about the language known as German as it is spoken in the United States. ... The Italian language has been a widely spoken language in the United States of America for more than one hundred years, due to large-scale immigration beginning in the late 19th century. ... Japanese language education in the United States began in the late 19th century, aimed mainly at Japanese American children and conducted by parents and community institutions; over the course of the next century, it would slowly expand to include non-Japanese as well as native speakers (mainly children of Japanese...

Notes

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... President Bush signing the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act at Hamilton H.S. in Hamilton, Ohio. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.

* Grimes, Barbara F. (Ed.). (2000). Ethnologue: Languages of the world, (14th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-106-9. Online edition: http://www.ethnologue.com/, accessed on December 7, 2004. is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• 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

• Bilingualism in the United States
• Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over by State: U.S. Census 2000
• Foreign Languages in the U.S. About foreign languages and language learning in the United States
• How many indigenous American languages are spoken in the United States? By how many speakers?
• Native Languages of the Americas
• Spanish-speaking in the U.S.
• Ethnologue report for USA
• Linguistic map of the United States of America

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v • d • e Languages of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama1 · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · St. Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago1 · United States Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged, gives an overview of states around the world with information on the extent of their sovereignty. ... There are a multitude of languages spoken in Canada, but only English, French and certain aboriginal languages have official status. ... Dependencies and other territories American Samoa2 · Anguilla · Aruba1 · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Guam2 · Martinique · Montserrat · Navassa Island · Netherlands Antilles · Northern Mariana Islands2 · Puerto Rico · St. Barthélemy · St. Martin · St. Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · United States Virgin Islands Download high resolution version (675x894, 685 KB)From http://cia. ... World map of dependent territories. ... Types of administrative and/or political territories include: A legally administered territory, which is a non-sovereign geographic area that has come under the authority of another government. ... 1 Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (South America). 2 Territories also in or commonly reckoned to be in the Pacific basin.

v • d • e The Anglosphere Dark blue: Countries and territories where English is the official, de facto official or primary national language. This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent. ... Pacific redirects here. ... Look up Anglophone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Definitions of the Anglosphere vary: Countries in which English is the first language of a large fraction of the population are shown in blue. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other uses, see Oceania (disambiguation). ... Definitions of the Anglosphere vary: Countries in which English is the first language of a large fraction of the population are shown in blue. ... Location of the British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories are fourteen[1] territories which the United Kingdom considers to be under its sovereignty, but not as part of the United Kingdom itself. ... Light blue: countries (in the case of Quebec: province) where English is an official language but not primary. English is also one of the official languages of the European Union. Click on the coloured regions to get to the related article: This article is about the Canadian province. ... Chameleon, a symbol of the multilingualism of the European Union. ...