How Americans feel about making English the official language of the U.S.
About half of U.S. adults (51%) say it is extremely or very important for the U.S. to make English its official language.
Immigration & Language Adoption
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Immigration & Language Adoption
Publications
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Why Asian Immigrants Come to the U.S. and How They View Life Here
Most say they’d move to the U.S. again if they could and cite a good comparative standard of living. But 59% also see major issues with the immigration system.
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Cultural Issues and the 2024 Election
Voters who support Biden and Trump have starkly different opinions on many issues, and these two groups are divided internally as well.
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How Hispanic Americans Get Their News
U.S.-born Latinos mostly get their news in English and prefer it in English, while immigrant Latinos have much more varied habits.
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Language and Traditions Are Considered Central to National Identity
Across more than 20 countries surveyed, a median of 91% say being able to speak their country’s most common language is important for being considered a true national. And 81% say sharing their country’s customs and traditions is important for true belonging.
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Latinos’ Views of and Experiences With the Spanish Language
Most U.S. Latinos speak Spanish: 75% say they are able to carry on a conversation in Spanish pretty well or very well. But not all Latinos are Spanish speakers, and about half (54%) of non-Spanish-speaking Latinos have been shamed by other Latinos for not speaking Spanish.
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5 facts about Arabic speakers in the U.S.
The number of people ages 5 and older who speak Arabic at home in the U.S. has risen from 215,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million in 2021.
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In Their Own Words: Asian Immigrants’ Experiences Navigating Language Barriers in the United States
Across 49 focus groups with Asian immigrants, daily challenges related to speaking English emerged as a common theme. Participants also shared frustration, stress and at times sadness in dealing with cultural and language barriers, and described support they received from others.
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Speaking the national language at home is less common in some European countries
In some EU nations, sizable minorities speak something other than their country’s national language in their household.
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Recently arrived U.S. immigrants, growing in number, differ from long-term residents
Recently arrived immigrants have markedly different education, income and other characteristics from those who have been in the U.S. for longer.
