Spanish, Chinese Top Non-English Languages Spoken; Most of Population is English Proficient
The U.S. Census Bureau released an interactive, online map pinpointing the wide array of languages spoken in homes across the nation, along with a detailed report on rates of English proficiency and the growing number of speakers of other languages.
The 2011 Language Mapper shows where people speaking specific languages other than English live, with dots representing how many people speak each of 15 different languages. For each language, the mapper shows the concentration of those who report that they speak English less than “very well,” a measure of English proficiency. The tool uses data collected through the American Community Survey from 2007 to 2011. More.
See: U.S. Census Bureau
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Германия
Local time: 03:40
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This map is quite interesting.
Unfortunately, as usual, it doesn't show any of the "true/original" American languages.
Нидерланды
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Unfortunately, as usual, it doesn't show any of the "true/original" American languages.
Well, how many people who speak those languages would you have expected to have immigrated to the United States recently? The purpose of this map is clearly to show where immigrants live. I assume the second of each option correlates to first generation immigrants whereas the first of each option correlates to all generations of immigrants.
Of course, this is merely a correlation, since it assumes that anyone who doesn't speak English as a native language must be an immigrant, but it is a useful assumption for the purpose of this map. The map is also useless for immigrants whose native language is English (or, as you point out, any of the "original" American languages).
It was interesting to see that e.g. Portuguese and French people prefer the coastal cities, whereas e.g. Arabic and Russian people live in all states and regions all over the United States. Another interesting thing to watch for is residential preference in different places. In some states, most Spanish people who can't speak good English live outside the large cities, whereas most French people who can't speak good English live within the large cities.
США
Local time: 21:40
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No, I don't think it is really th... See more
No, I don't think it is really the way you see it, Samuel. You theoretically don't have to speak English even if you are third generation American-- not to mention first, or first and a half. This is an anonymous census they usually do around election time every four years -- which language you speak at home. As you may see, there is nothing about "native language" there and nothing about immigrants. It is just a census of languages spoken in the US. Hopefully no-one assumes that Native American languages are languages of some newcomers.
[Edited at 2013-08-10 10:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
Нидерланды
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One theoretically doesn't have to speak English even if you are third generation American-- not to mention first, or first and a half.
That is true, but don't you think that most immigrants would integrate into local society (which would include using English more than their original language) within two or three generations?
Yes, you're right -- I misinterpreted what "less than very well" meant. I thought it read "not very well", but it actually reads "less than very well", which would include things like "quite well" and "neither well nor not well".
The table that produced the graphic is for "LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". For each non-English language, the numeric data are given in two categories: Speak English very well and speak English less than very well.
What would you say is the point of all this information?
США
Local time: 18:40
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The purpose of this map is clearly to show where immigrants live.
"The 2011 Language Mapper shows where people speaking specific languages other than English live, ..."
Don't assume that people speaking languages other than English are always recent immigrants. According to the latest census data, there are 1.3 million people in the United States who speak French at home. Most of them are descendants of people who immigrated in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The USA is not now, and never has been, a monolingual country, despite what many people think.
More here:
Language Use in the United States: 2011
http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf
[Edited at 2013-08-10 13:27 GMT]
США
Local time: 21:40
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Then, there are people, usually temporary workers, but not only, who live in their own communities, and mostly use their first language, whenever they can, watch TV in that language, go to local, ... See more
Then, there are people, usually temporary workers, but not only, who live in their own communities, and mostly use their first language, whenever they can, watch TV in that language, go to local, ethnic restaurants, etc.-- these people may retain their L1 for the rest of their lives, in more or LESS perfect form -- due to language interference and language changes in the country where their L1 is spoken.
Then, you have some second generation people who speak a different language at home, out of love for it, or tradition. Also many Native American people speak their Native languages -- they may speak English as well-- I am not sure if all do, probably to some extent at least.
So, it is all very complex. It might also have to do with the national identity a lot. There are refugees (in any sense, not just political) and there are ex-patriots. Their attitude towards languages, such as their L1 and the language of the country where they live, are totally different. The differences may even be sharper, if the L1 of some refugees is not really the language of their ancestors, but rather the official language of the country where they lived. ( True about many people form the ex-Soviet Union, for example)
[Edited at 2013-08-10 13:44 GMT] ▲ Collapse
США
Local time: 18:40
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This is an anonymous census they usually do around election time every four years -- which language you speak at home.
A census is conducted every ten years. It's in the U.S. Constitution. The next one will be in 2020.
США
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voting. It is anonymous. They ask you various questions about your household.
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