2. US Native Language Distribution 2016
The top three languages are English (231,122,908 native speakers), Spanish (37,458,470
speakers), and the Chinese Languages (includes Cantonese, Mandarine, etc., 2,896,766
speakers). http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-most-spoken-languages-in-
america.html
3. US Native Language Distribution Through Time
In 1980, the five most
commonly spoken
languages other than
English were Spanish,
Italian, German, French,
and Polish.
SOURCE: Decennial censuses
1980-2000 and 2010 ACS 1-
year estimates.
https://www.census.gov/dat
aviz/visualizations/045/
4. Changing relationship with English,
both domestic and abroad.
• According to a 2011 paper** by U.S. Census Bureau
Demographers Jennifer Ortman and Hyon B. Shin, the number
of Spanish speakers is projected to rise through 2020 to
anywhere between 39 million and 43 million, depending on the
assumption one makes about immigration.
**https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/ac
s/Ortman_Shin_ASA2011_paper.pdf
“Spanish is not a minority language. Not in this
hemisphere, not in the United States, not in
the world. So why treat it like one? Why
‘other’ it? ---Author Sonja Burrows
See:
http://middleburyinteractive.com/blog/spanis
h-language-future
5. Worldwide, Chinese Dialects are #1
• The Chinese dialects
combined already have more
native speakers than any
other language, followed by
Hindi and Urdu.
• English comes next with 527
million native speakers.
Arabic is spoken by nearly 100
million more native speakers
than Spanish, which has 389
million speakers.
6. Dwindling Numbers of American Youth
Learning Foreign Languages…
• The number of American students who learned a language
other than English decreased by about 100,000 between 2009
and 2013, according to research by the Modern Language
Association.
Missing an opportunity!
See: Why is it easier for a
child to learn a new
language than an adult?
By Sharon Perkins
http://oureverydaylife.com/easier-
child-learn-new-language-adult-
15590.html
7. This is pointing to a need….
• This implies a strong need for foreign language
fluency amongst adults in positions that
include interaction with native spanish-
speakers (e.g. health care, law enforcement).
….but how do we best educate adults in foreign
languages?
