The number of people in the US who speak a second language has tripled in the last 40 years, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. About 68 million Americans speak a second language at home – 1 in 5 citizens.
Spanish, spoken by 41 million people, is by far the most spoken second language. Hispanics are the largest minority group in the US.
Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) is the second most important foreign language in the US. Since the Gold Rush in the middle of the 19th century, Chinese immigrants have been coming into the country in large numbers. Today, there are over 5 million Chinese Americans.
Other important second languages include Tagalog, a Philippine dialect, Vietnamese and Arabic. The most spoken European language is French.