Languages of North America facts for kids
North America is the third largest continent in the world. It has 23 countries. The most common languages spoken here are English, Spanish, and sometimes French or Creole languages. This includes countries in Central America and the Caribbean.
Native Languages of North America
Many different languages are spoken by the indigenous peoples (the original inhabitants) of North America.
Languages of the Arctic
In the Arctic regions, people speak Eskaleut languages. These include the Aleut language, found in the Aleutian Islands. Yupik languages are spoken in Alaska. Inuit languages are spoken by people in places like Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Greenland.
Na-Dené Languages
A group of languages called Na-Dené languages are spoken in Alaska and northwestern Canada. Some Southern Athabaskan languages from this group are spoken in the southwestern United States.
Algic Languages
Algic languages, which include Algonquian languages, are spoken by many people in Canada and the United States. Some examples are Ojibwe, Cree, Miꞌkmaq, and Blackfoot.
Iroquoian Languages
The Iriquoian languages are spoken by many people living near the Saint Lawrence River and the eastern Great Lakes. One well-known example is Cherokee.
Uto-Aztecan Languages
The Uto-Aztecan languages are spoken by people in the Western United States, northern and central Mexico, and El Salvador. Some of these languages include Hopi, Oʼodham, and Nahuatl.
Mayan Languages
Mayan languages are spoken by people in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.
Mixe–Zoque Languages
The Mixe–Zoque languages are spoken by people in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico.
Arawakan Languages
In the Caribbean, many people used to speak Arawakan languages. Some of these are the Ta-Arawakan languages, which are also spoken in Central and South America. Many people in South America still speak them today.
Languages Introduced from Other Countries
Languages that came to North America from other parts of the world include English, Spanish, and French. Most people in North America speak English. These languages were brought to America by people who came from Europe.
English Language
English is widely spoken in Canada, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands. It is also spoken alongside Creole languages in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Virgin Islands.
Spanish Language
The most spoken language in Mexico is Spanish. Most people in Central America also speak Spanish, including those in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Many people in the United States also speak Spanish.
French Language
Some places in Canada speak French. These include Quebec and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. French is also spoken in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Other European Languages
- Russian: Many people in Alaska used to speak Russian. This is because the United States bought Alaska from Russia.
- German: Some communities in the United States speak German. This includes the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Hutterite Germans, and the Texas Germans. The Plautdietsch dialect is spoken by descendants of people from the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
- Danish: Nearly everyone in Greenland speaks Danish. It is spoken there because of past colonization by the Danish.
- Dutch: Dutch is spoken by many people in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. It is also spoken by descendants of settlers who live in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Asian Languages
Many Asian languages are spoken in the United States and Canada. These include Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Kashmiri, Dogri, Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Odia, Maithili, Nepali, Balochi, Pashto, Assamese, Meitei, Santali, Kokborok, Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Malayalam, and Kannada. Many people from India came to the Caribbean in the 1800s and 1900s. They came to work on sugar cane, cocoa bean, rice, and coffee bean farms after slavery ended.
See also
In Spanish: Lenguas de Norteamérica para niños
