【文章标题】：美国除英语外使用人数最多的语言（1980-2024）
【文章正文】： America’s Most-Spoken Languages Besides English (1980–2024) 美国除英语外使用人数最多的语言（1980-2024）
Key Takeaways: 核心发现：
Spanish is by far America’s most common non-English language spoken at home, rising from 11.1 million speakers in 1980 to 44.9 million in 2024. 西班牙语是美国最普遍的非英语家庭用语，使用人数从1980年的1110万激增至2024年的4490万。
Chinese climbed from sixth place in 1980 to second in 2024, while Tagalog rose from seventh to fourth. 中文从1980年的第六位攀升至2024年的第二位，他加禄语从第七位升至第四位。
German and Italian both fell out of the top 10 by 2024, while Hindi entered the ranking for the first time. 德语和意大利语在2024年双双跌出前十，印地语则首次进入榜单。
The languages spoken in American households have changed substantially over the last four decades, reflecting shifting immigration patterns as well as how languages are retained across generations. 过去四十年间美国家庭用语发生显著变化，这既反映了移民模式变迁，也体现了语言代际传承的特点。
This graphic, created by Julie R. Peasley, ranks the 10 most-spoken languages at home in the U.S. besides English, using data from the United States Census Bureau. Julie R. Peasley制作的图表根据美国人口普查局数据，统计了英语之外美国家庭最常用的十大语言。
The Census has used the same basic series of questions about language spoken at home since 1980. 自1980年以来，人口普查始终采用相同的基础问题集统计家庭用语情况。
Spanish Dominates America’s Multilingual Landscape 西班牙语领跑美国多语言版图
The table below shows the most-spoken non-English languages at home by decade. 下表按年代显示美国家庭最常使用的非英语语言：
Rank 排名 | 1980 Language 1980年语言 | 1980 Speakers 1980年使用人数 | 2024 Language 2024年语言 | 2024 Speakers 2024年使用人数 1 | Spanish 西班牙语 | 11.12M 1112万 | Spanish 西班牙语 | 44.87M 4487万 2 | Italian 意大利语 | 1.62M 162万 | Chinese 中文 | 3.73M 373万 3 | German 德语 | 1.59M 159万 | French 法语 | 2.32M 232万 4 | French 法语 | 1.55M 155万 | Tagalog 他加禄语 | 1.92M 192万 5 | Polish 波兰语 | 820K 82万 | Vietnamese 越南语 | 1.60M 160万 6 | Chinese 中文 | 630K 63万 | Arabic 阿拉伯语 | 1.48M 148万 7 | Tagalog 他加禄语 | 470K 47万 | Korean 韩语 | 1.15M 115万 8 | Greek 希腊语 | 400K 40万 | Portuguese 葡萄牙语 | 1.10M 110万 9 | Portuguese 葡萄牙语 | 350K 35万 | Hindi 印地语 | 1.06M 106万 10 | Japanese 日语 | 340K 34万 | Russian 俄语 | 1.02M 102万
Spanish stands in a league of its own. Its 44.9 million home speakers in 2024 were more than 12 times the 3.7 million speaking Chinese, the second-ranked language. 西班牙语处于绝对领先地位。2024年4490万家庭使用者是第二名中文（370万）的12倍以上。
Spanish’s presence in the U.S. predates the country itself. Spanish-speaking communities have existed for centuries in territories that later became parts of the United States, particularly across the Southwest and Florida. 西班牙语在美国的存在早于建国本身。在后来成为美国领土的地区（尤其是西南部和佛罗里达），西语社区已存在数百年。
More recent immigration from Latin America has substantially expanded its use. 近期来自拉丁美洲的移民潮更使其使用范围大幅扩展。
This helps explain why Spanish is also the most common language after English across much of the country. 这解释了为何西班牙语是全美仅次于英语的普遍语言。
From European to Asian Languages 从欧洲语言到亚洲语言的转变
In 1980, four of the five languages behind Spanish were European: Italian, German, French, and Polish. By 2024, only French remained in the top five alongside Spanish. 1980年西班牙语之后的五大语言中有四种欧洲语言：意大利语、德语、法语和波兰语。到2024年，仅剩法语仍与西班牙语位列前五。
Over the same period, Chinese climbed from sixth to second place, while Tagalog rose from seventh to fourth. Vietnamese reached fifth place, and Arabic climbed from outside the top 10 in 2000 to sixth place in 2024, with 1.48 million speakers. 同期中文从第六位升至第二位，他加禄语从第七升至第四。越南语进入前五，阿拉伯语从2000年未入前十跃升至2024年第六位（148万使用者）。
These shifts illustrate how immigration has reshaped America’s linguistic landscape. Research on U.S. language diversity notes that immigrant languages often decline across generations as descendants adopt English, meaning continued migration can play an important role in sustaining their prevalence. 这些变化印证了移民如何重塑美国语言版图。关于美国语言多样性的研究指出，随着后代改用英语，移民语言往往代际衰减，这意味着持续移民对维持语言存续至关重要。
Some of these languages can also present very different learning curves for English speakers. For instance, several Asian languages appear among the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. 某些语言对英语母语者存在显著学习难度差异。例如多门亚洲语言位列英语母语者最难掌握的语言。
How Much the Ranking Has Changed 排名变迁幅度
Some of the biggest shifts become clear when comparing the endpoints. Italian ranked second in 1980 with 1.62 million home speakers, while German ranked third with 1.59 million. Neither language remained in the top 10 by 2024. 对比起止年份可见最大变化：意大利语1980年以162万使用者位居第二，德语以159万列第三，但到2024年两者均跌出前十。
Meanwhile, several languages absent from the 1980 top 10 entered the ranking by 2024, including Vietnamese, Arabic, Korean, Hindi, and Russian. Hindi entered the top 10 for the first time in 2024. 与此同时，越南语、阿拉伯语、韩语、印地语和俄语等1980年未入前十的语言在2024年上榜，其中印地语首次进入前十。
The ranking will continue to evolve as migration patterns change and languages are retained or lost across generations. 随着移民模式变化和语言代际存续或消亡，这份排名将持续演变。
Learn More on the Voronoi App 更多信息请见Voronoi应用
To see how America’s linguistic landscape compares globally, check out The World’s Most Spoken Languages by Total Speakers on the Voronoi app. 欲了解美国语言版图的全球定位，请查看Voronoi应用中的《全球使用人数最多的语言》。