Census Data Documents African Language Use in the United States

Census_Bureau_seal.svgThe United States Census Bureau has released data showing that at least 350 languages other than English are spoken at home by people living in the United States. Some 60 million Americans over the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home. This is about one fifth of all Americans.

It will come as no surprise that the most common language other than English is Spanish. More than 37 million Americans speak Spanish at home. This is more than 61 percent of all Americans who speak a language other than English at home.

Some 894,499 Americans speak an African language at home. More than 322,000 Americans speak the West African languages of Kru, Ibo, or Yoruba. Many of these Americans are of Nigerian descent. About 122,000 American speak the Cushite language. Many of the Cushite speakers are immigrants from Ethiopia or Somalia. There are 88,685 Swahili speakers in the United States. Swahili is spoken in nations of southeast Africa such as Kenya, Mozambique, and Uganda.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Graduate Enrollment Surges at Winston-Salem State University

In fall 2024, Winston-Salem State University enrolled 244 new graduate students, an increase of 31.2 percent from the prior year. The HBCU now enrolls nearly 600 graduate students.

Two Black Women College Presidents Announce Their Retirements

Gilda Barbino, president of Olin College of Engineering, and Soraya Coley, president of Cal Poly, Pomona, have announced their plans to retire at the end of this academic year. Both Dr. Barbino and Dr. Coley are the first woman presidents of their institutions.

Norfolk State University to Construct a $118 Million STEM Facility

As part of an ongoing $90 million fundraising campaign, Norfolk State University has announced plans to establish a 131,000-square-foot STEM building to advance its research capabilities and science academic programming.

Two Black Men Selected for Academic Appointments at Universities

The faculty members with new appointments are Christopher Small at Florida State University and Dwight McBride at Washington University in St. Louis.

Featured Jobs