Education | National

Map shows most commonly spoken Native languages in states






Map shows the most commonly spoken Native languages in all 50 states. Image from Slate.Com

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Slate has created a map showing the most commonly spoken Native languages in all 50 states.

The Cherokee language is the most common Native language in 14 states, the largest number. There are speakers as far east as Maryland and in a large number of Southern states, where the Cherokee people lived before being forced to walk the Trail of Tears.

Navajo is the most common Native language in nine states, the second largest number. There language dominates the West but there are speakers in Hawaii and as far away as Massachusetts and Connecticut.

A second map shows the influence of Native languages in three states. Navajo is the most commonly spoken language other than English or Spanish in New Mexico and Arizona, while Dakota is the most commonly spoken in South Dakota.
Map shows the most commonly spoken language other than English or Spanish. Image from Slate.Com

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Tagalog in California, Cherokee in Arkansas (Slate 5/13)

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