Overview about the French language in the United States
For French people in the United States, see French Americans.
United States French
US French
Français des États-Unis
Language family
Indo-European
Italic
Romance
Western
Gallo-Romance
Oïl
French
United States French
Early forms
Old Latin
Classical Latin
Vulgar Latin
Old French
Middle French
Writing system
Latin (French alphabet) French Braille
Language codes
ISO 639-3
–
Glottolog
None
The French language is spoken as a minority language in the United States. Roughly 2.1 million Americans over the age of five reported speaking the language at home in a federal 2010 estimate,[1][2] making French the fourth most-spoken language in the nation behind English, Spanish, and Chinese (when Louisiana French, Haitian Creole and all other French dialects and French-derived creoles are included, and when Cantonese, Mandarin and other varieties of Chinese are similarly combined).[3]
Several varieties of French evolved in what is now the United States:
Louisiana French, spoken in Louisiana by descendants of colonists in French Louisiana
New England French, spoken in New England by descendants of 19th and 20th-century Canadian migrants
Missouri French, spoken in Missouri by descendants of French settlers in the Illinois Country
Muskrat French, spoken in Michigan by descendants of habitants, voyageurs and coureurs des bois in the Pays d'en Haut
Métis French, spoken in North Dakota by Métis people
More recently, French has also been carried to various parts of the nation via immigration from Francophone countries and regions. Today, French is the second most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and Vermont. In Louisiana, it is tied with Spanish for second most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island.[2][4]
As a second language, French is the second most widely taught foreign language (after Spanish) in American schools, colleges and universities.[5] While the overwhelming majority of Americans of French ancestry grew up speaking only English, some enroll their children in French heritage language classes.
^U.S. Census Bureau (2003). "Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000" (PDF). U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
^ ab"LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER : Universe: Population 5 years and over : 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". Factfinder2.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
^"American FactFinder". Factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12.
^"LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER : Universe: Population 5 years and over : 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates??". Factfinder2.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
^"Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States".
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