Multilingualism
- From 1980 to 2021, the percentage of Americans age 18 or older who were multilingual rose from 9% to 17% (the largest share on record; Indicator V-08a). In this case, an individual is considered multilingual if they: (1) report speaking a language other than English at home; and (2) characterize themselves as speaking English “well” or “very well.” These estimates are based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, and focus on immigrants’ ability to acquire English-language skills. These data do not capture those individuals who speak English at home and acquired proficiency in another language via formal education or contact with the non-English language in another nondomestic setting; nor do the data account for those who may have learned a language other than English in their childhood homes (and still speak it fluently) but who do not use that language in their own homes as adults.
- In 2021, the majority (56%) of multilingual Americans age 18 or older spoke Spanish or Spanish Creole in addition to English (Indicator V-08b). Approximately one-fifth of multilinguals spoke another Indo-European language, and 17% spoke an Asian or Pacific Island language. Included among the remaining 6% of multilingual Americans (whose home language is labeled “Other” in the graph) are those who spoke Indigenous languages of North, Central, and South America; Semitic languages (including Arabic); and languages of Africa.
* Adults are defined as people age 18 or older.
Source: For 1980–2000: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census. For 2010 and later: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
In January 2006, President George W. Bush launched the National Security Language Initiative, which was designed to “dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese [Mandarin], Russian, Hindi, Persian, and others through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through university and into the workforce.” (U.S. Department of State, “National Security Language Initiative,” Fact Sheet [January 5, 2006]). The other languages deemed “critical” as of January 2021 were Azerbaijani, Bangla, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Punjabi, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. For the number of U.S. adults who speak certain of these languages at home and also report speaking English well or very well, see the supplemental table.
Despite the concern about what is perceived as a national foreign-language deficit, however, existing data on multilingualism are of limited use in gauging the true extent of the country’s fluency in multiple languages. This is true for several reasons. First, such data are based on self-reported information—currently, no system objectively measures and registers individuals’ multilingual capabilities. Second, the national trend data covering the greatest length of time, those collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, reflect a concern with immigrants’ ability to acquire English-language skills. Thus these data do not capture those individuals who speak English at home and acquired proficiency in another language via formal education or contact with the non-English language in another nondomestic setting; nor do the data account for those who may have learned a language other than English in their childhood homes (and still speak it fluently) but who do not use that language in their own homes as adults. Moreover, Census Bureau data do not measure the extent of individuals’ proficiency in their non-English “home” language. Finally, data collected by the bureau and other organizations do not reveal what share of the population is fluent in multiple non-English languages.
* Adults are defined as people age 18 or older. For a list of the languages included in each of the categories above, see the supplemental table.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
In January 2006, President George W. Bush launched the National Security Language Initiative, which was designed to “dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese [Mandarin], Russian, Hindi, Persian, and others through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through university and into the workforce.” (U.S. Department of State, “National Security Language Initiative,” Fact Sheet [January 5, 2006]). The other languages deemed “critical” as of January 2021 were Azerbaijani, Bangla, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Punjabi, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. For the number of U.S. adults who speak certain of these languages at home and also report speaking English well or very well, see the supplemental table.
Despite the concern about what is perceived as a national foreign-language deficit, however, existing data on multilingualism are of limited use in gauging the true extent of the country’s fluency in multiple languages. This is true for several reasons. First, such data are based on self-reported information—currently, no system objectively measures and registers individuals’ multilingual capabilities. Second, the national trend data covering the greatest length of time, those collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, reflect a concern with immigrants’ ability to acquire English-language skills. Thus these data do not capture those individuals who speak English at home and acquired proficiency in another language via formal education or contact with the non-English language in another nondomestic setting; nor do the data account for those who may have learned a language other than English in their childhood homes (and still speak it fluently) but who do not use that language in their own homes as adults. Moreover, Census Bureau data do not measure the extent of individuals’ proficiency in their non-English “home” language. Finally, data collected by the bureau and other organizations do not reveal what share of the population is fluent in multiple non-English languages.
