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The Modern Language Association Language Map
A Map of Languages in the United States
The MLA Language Map is intended for use by students, teachers, and anyone interested in learning about the linguistic and cultural composition of the United States. The MLA Language Map uses data from the US Census 2000 to display the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and three groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States. The census data are based on responses to the question, "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" The Language Map illustrates the concentration and number of speakers in zip codes and counties. The Language Map Data Center provides data from US Census 2000 about over three hundred languages spoken in the United States, including actual counts and percentages of speakers. The Data Center uses data from the 2005 American Community Survey about the thirty languages most commonly spoken in the United States to provide a snapshot of recent changes in American language communities. In addition users can add to each map the colleges and universities that teach the selected language and can display fall 2009 enrollments for the language by undergraduate and graduate levels.
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View the Map
View an interactive map showing the percentages or numbers of speakers of the selected language. Select a state or click the map to zoom in on a region. Add or remove county and city names, rivers and lakes, zip code borders and numbers, or Indian reservations. Click Show Where This Language Is Taught to see 2009 enrollments, as reported to the fall 2009 MLA survey on college and university enrollments in languages other than English. Select Prevalent Language Other Than English maps to see the most spoken language in each county. A bar graph beneath the map provides the actual numbers of speakers by state; for numbers of speakers by zip code, town, city, or county, use the Data Center.
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Create Detailed Tables
Visit the Data Center for US Census information about numbers and ages of speakers of languages in a specific state, county, zip code, metropolitan area, town, or county subdivision or to view charts that illustrate the distribution by percentage of the languages in each state. Compare speakers of different languages by three age groups: 5–17, 18–64, and 65 and over. Compare Americans who speak other languages by their ability to speak English. Compare statewide data for 2000 and 2005.
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Enrollment Data
Visit the Language Enrollment Database, 1958–2009, to create tables about language enrollments in US colleges and universities drawing on data from the MLA's twenty-two enrollment surveys.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find out about the US Census—the source of the MLA Language Map data—and about the composition of the census's language groups. Follow links to census publications, to data about migration and immigration and about language teaching in US colleges and universities, and to information about where specific languages are spoken outside the United States.
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