An American survey reveals that the Philippine languages of Tagalog and Ilocano are among the most common languages spoken in the United States, aside from English and Spanish.
The annual United States Census Bureau American Community Survey asked more than one million American respondents what language they mainly speak in their homes, and the results show the predominance of the Philippine languages in three states.
Business Insider mapped the individual-level responses from the 2017 American Community Survey assembled and published by the Minnesota Population Center’s Integrated Public Use Microdata Series program, and found the most common language spoken at home in each state, excluding English and Spanish.
The Tagalog language of the people of Luzon island was found to be the 10th most commonly spoken among 19 languages other than English and Spanish.
Tagalog, with an estimated number of speakers nationally at 1,753,712, is the most commonly spoken language at home in the states of California and Nevada.
Ilocano, of the people of the Ilocos region in northern Luzon, took the 15th most commonly spoken language spot, with an estimated number of speakers nationally at 92,955, and mostly spoken in the state Hawaii where 85% of the Filipino population is from Ilocos.
Business Insider’s Andy Kiersz and Ivan De Luce wrote, “Filipinos started coming to America in large numbers by the turn of the 19th century but it wasn’t until the 1960s that both skilled and educated workers came by the thousands. Today, there are over 4 million Filipino Americans.”
The American Community Survey (ACS) helps local officials, community leaders, and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities. It is the premier source for detailed population and housing information about our nation.
Filipino language studies are now being offered in the Advancing Philippine Studies Program of the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany.
The inclusion of the Philippines’ language will also be accessible as part of the school curriculum in Alberta, Canada starting 2020.
Another major Philippine language, Cebuano from the Visayas and Mindanao islands, can now be understood by worldwide travelers after it was added to Google Translate’s Word Lens, a feature that allows users instant translation using smartphone cameras.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Filipino Americans for keeping their Philippine heritage alive in America!
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