The most popular U.S. languages besides English and Spanish
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Chinese, Tagalog and Vietnamese are the three most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. other than English and Spanish, per new census data.
Why it matters: The myriad languages spoken nationwide reflect both the settlement and colonization of centuries long past, as well as more modern immigration patterns.
- While Spanish is far and away the predominant non-English language nationwide, with about 41.2 million speakers, putting it aside offers insight into other groups and population centers around the country.
By the numbers: About 3.5 million people in the U.S. speak a form of Chinese, 1.7 million a form of Tagalog, and 1.5 million Vietnamese and related languages, per Census Bureau survey data.
- That's for languages spoken at home during the 2017-2021 period among people five years and older.
Between the lines: Many multilingual people speak one language at home with family, but use English at work, school and elsewhere.
- Just over 60% of people who speak a language other than English at home also say they speak English "very well," per the census data.
Zoom in: German is the most popular language other than English or Spanish in eight states, Vietnamese in seven, and French in seven.
- Native American and Indigenous languages remain the most popular non-English or Spanish language in four states, though many such languages are considered endangered.
- "Native North American language use ... declined by 6% in the past eight years," per the Census Bureau.
