The Modern Language Association Language Map
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.
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.