Topic #4 ~ Language

1. The map above shows the concentration of Navajo speaking individuals in the lower 48 states of the United States. Only 0.07% of the nation speaks the Navajo language. That is equivalent to 178,014 persons. Navajo speaking individuals appear mainly in Navajo nation, which includes Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. Many Native Americans reside in these states where they sell their native trades along the highways. If you travel through one of these states, there is a high possibility that you will see these trade shops and hear the Navajo language spoken.


2. Nebraska is filled with German Lutherans, but it is very interesting to see exactly how many of those German descendants actually speak the German language. In the United States, 1,383,442 individuals speak German. Lancaster county, including Lincoln, NE, accounts for 1,000-4,999 of those individuals.


3. This map indicates the number of Spanish speaking individuals per county in the state of Texas. Over 1/4 of the population of Texas, 26%, speaks Spanish or Spanish-Creole. Texas has 5,195,182 Spanish speaking individuals. The largest concentration of these individuals is along the lower Texas-Mexico border. They also occur in large cities, including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and El Paso. These individuals most likely immigrated from Mexico to Texas is search of work. After getting across the border, many stay close and search for jobs right inside the Texas territory.



4. The state of New York is home to 374,627 Chinese speaking persons. A large percentage of this population appears in the areas of lower Manhattan and Queens. The map of Chinese speaking individuals overlaps the area in lower Manhattan known as Chinatown. In Chinatown, there are several authentic Chinese art and craft shops, restaurants, and knock-off designer shops. Chinese Americans run these shops and communicate with each other with their native Chinese Language.