In 2015, the US Census Bureau released its more detailed set of data covering the hundreds of languages spoken in homes throughout the United States. In this presentation, we'll take a look at that data.

1. THE STATE OF FOREIGN
LANGUAGES IN THE U.S.
REVIEW OF THE 2015 CENSUS REPORT

2. “THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY
SURVEY REVEALS THE WIDE-
RANGING LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
OF THE UNITED STATES.”
- ERIK VIKSTROM, CENSUS BUREAU STATISTICIAN

3. In November 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau
released its most detailed data ever on
language use in the United States.
Previously available for only 39 languages,
the latest data expanded to 350 languages.

4. WHO IS SPEAKING FOREIGN
LANGUAGES?

5. More than 60.3 million Americans (ages 5+)
speak a language other than English at home.
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
2000 2007 2011 2015
% Speaking Other Languages at Home

6. 1 in 5 Americans speaks a language other than
English at home.
60.3 million
321.1
million

7. WHAT FOREIGN LANGUAGES ARE
THEY SPEAKING?

8. Of the 60+ million people speaking
languages other than English, 37 million of
those people speak Spanish at home.

9. In addition to English and Spanish, six other
languages are spoken at home by at least one
million people.
English - 231.1M
Spanish - 37.5M
Chinese (all dialects) - 2.9M
Tagalog - 1.6M
Vietnamese - 1.4M
French - 1.3M
German - 1.0M
Korean - 1.1M
Other - 13.5M

10. While not among the most spoken, Arabic
is the fastest growing language in the
United States, increasing 29.2% since 2010.
614,582
864,961
1,117,304
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
2000 2010 2014

11. Arabic is followed by Urdu and Hindi,
which have grown 22.8% and 18.8%,
respectively.
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
2000 2010 2014
Arabic
Urdu
Hindi

12. Other languages have decreased in recent
years, including Hungarian (-13.6%), Serbo-
Croatian (-13.3%), and German (-12.5%).

13. For the first time, the Census Bureau released data on less
commonly spoken languages, expanding its report from
39 to 350 languages, organized by region/origin.
English
Spanish
Indo-European
Languages
Asian and Pacific Island
Languages
Native American
Languages
Arabic
African Languages
Other

14. WHERE ARE FOREIGN LANGUAGES
SPOKEN MOST?

15. The 60 million people who speak languages other than
English at home are spread unevenly through the
country, with the largest pockets in metropolitan areas.

16. The new report included detailed figures on language
use in the 15 largest metropolitan areas.
192 185
153 156 146 145
168
128
146 138
163
126
145
163 166
38
54
29 30
15
37 26
51
17 23
40
12
40
26 22
0
50
100
150
200
250
# of Languages Spoken % of Population Speaking Other Languages

17. New York City is home to the most languages,
with 192 languages spoken at home by 38% of
the region’s population.
A less common
language community
found in NYC is
Bengali, with
105,765 speakers.
Image by copelaes on Flickr.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

18. Los Angeles is home to the highest percentage of
speakers of other languages. 54% of the population
speaks one of 185 languages found in the region.
A less common language
community found in LA is
Indonesian, with 12,750
speakers.
Image by Prayitno on Flickr.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

19. HOW IS THE USE OF A DIFFERENT
LANGUAGE AT HOME RELATED TO
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY?

20. Those who spoke a language other than English at home
were asked to self-evaluate their English skill.

21. Of the entire U.S. population aged 5+, only
8.6% of the population claims to speak
English less than “very well”.
8.6
91.4

22. Of the 60 million people who speak a
language other than English at home,
25 million (41.6%) reported that they speak
English less than “very well”.
41.6
58.4

23. Perceived English proficiency rates vary depending on
the other language spoken at home.
59.9
55.3 55.2
43.6
36.9
32 31.7
20.3 16.4 14.9 10.3
% Speaking English Less Than "Very Well"

24. Those who speak Asian languages at home
report lower English proficiency levels than
speakers of European or Native American
languages.

25. However, the data provided is self-
evaluated, not tested, so this could say
more about the expectations of certain
cultures rather than their actual English
proficiency levels.

26. WHY DOES IT MATTER?

27. The upward trend in linguistic diversity in the
United States shows no sign of slowing or
reversing.

28. The U.S. requires better language capabilities for
social, economic, and security needs. The newest
US Census data shows we already have that
capability in hundreds of languages, if only we
were better leveraging it.

29. Public planners and policy makers can also use this
data to strengthen English language skills
nationwide by identifying regions and groups in
need of more support.

30. “KNOWING THE NUMBER OF
LANGUAGES AND HOW MANY SPEAK
THESE LANGUAGES IN A PARTICULAR
AREA PROVIDES VALUABLE
INFORMATION TO POLICYMAKERS,
PLANNERS AND RESEARCHERS.”
- ERIK VIKSTROM, CENSUS BUREAU STATISTICIAN

31. To learn more about the state of foreign
languages in the U.S., check out the latest US
Census Bureau report.
To learn more about Transparent Language
and take a step towards improving your
language capabilities visit our website.