Pennsylvania's most popular languages
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Chinese, Pennsylvania German, and Russian are the three most commonly spoken languages in the the Commonwealth, 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.
By the numbers: Nearly 65,000 people speak Chinese in Pennsylvania, followed by 61,000 Pennsylvania German speakers and more than 45,000 Russian speakers, per the census data.
- That's a fraction of the roughly 637,000 Spanish speakers in the state.
- That's for languages spoken at home during the 2017-2021 period among people five years and older.
The intrigue: Pennsylvania German — also known as Pennsylvania Dutch — is a dialect that developed in the rural parts of southeastern and central Pennsylvania during the 18th century, and is still popular among the Amish and Mennonites.
- Researchers say about a fifth of the vocabulary words in the language are derived from English.
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.