Language in the U.S.
This page observes the change and spread of languages used all over the United States in the span of three decades. Understanding what languages are being conserved, which are increasing, and the concentration of people using the same languages is relevant and helps scholars trace migration patterns. Paying attention to language can also be used to track developed or developing ethnic communities and see what resources are available or not available to the population in their native languages.
Language Diversity in 1990's
A map of the states and language diversity:
Some interesting facts found in the link below:
Language spoken at Home 1990
Language Diversity in 2000's
The chart illustrated shows the most popular languages spoken in 2000 in the United States.
The map below is more descriptive than the first as it breaks down data of languages spoken at home other than English by state counties
The link below has more information about the map above and languages in the 2000's.
Language Use 2000
Language Diversity in 2010's+
The data tables below include an example for Spanish, which as seen above, is just about the second most spoken non-English language in the United States. This data table shows 2010, 2015, and 2020 projections and estimates of the percent and ages of population that will be speaking the language.
Data tables are from 2011 American Community Survey (ACS)
This map below is the 2011 Language Mapper. This is an interactive map that extracts data from the 2011 ACS. This map includes more detailed information (each dot represent about 100 people). Choose a language and see the amount and concentrations of where the language is spoken.
Data provided by Dan Ryan for further research
| Foreign Born by County 1970-2010 US Census via Minnesota Population Center. National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 2.0. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN FBxCounty1970-2010_NAD83.zip |
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