Languages spoken in Alabama

In October 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau released the "2009-2013 American Community Survey" which provides information on "languages spoken at home" and "ability to speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over" for the United States as a whole, states including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., selected counties, and selected cities and urban areas. The following provides aggregated survey information on languages spoken in Alabama

Table showing languages spoken in Alabama

Population 5 years and over
Speak only English at home
Speak a language other than English at home
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

French (incl. Patois, Cajun)

French Creole

Italian

Portuguese (incl. Portuguese Creole)

German (incl. Luxembourgian)

Yiddish

Other West Germanic languages

Scandinavian languages

Greek

Russian

Polish

Serbo-Croatian languages

Other Slavic languages

Other Indic languages

Other Indo-European languages

ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES

Chinese (incl. Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages)

Other Asian languages

Tagalog

Other Pacific Island languages

ALL OTHER LANGUAGES

Navajo

Other Native North American languages

Other and unspecified languages

BY STATE
BY COUNTY
BY CITY

Language	Number of speakers	Margin of Error	Speak English less than "Very Well"	Margin of Error
Population 5 years and over	4,497,352	490	107,436	2,608
Speak only English at home	4,261,611	3,627	(X)	(X)
Speak a language other than English at home	235,741	3,580	107,436	2,608
SPANISH AND SPANISH CREOLE	151,384	2,607	78,970	2,312
Spanish	151,385	2,607	78,970	2,312
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES	38,001	1,797	7,995	662
French (incl Patois, Cajun)	7,379	653	1,190	217
French	7,195	647	1,165	216
Patois	140	96	(D)	(D)
Cajun	40	38	(D)	(D)
French Creole	333	127	90	68
Italian	1,672	293	440	150
Portuguese (incl Portuguese Creole)	1,374	337	421	193
Portuguese	1,375	337	420	193
German (incl Luxembourgian)	10,038	816	1,526	275
German	10,040	816	1,525	275
Yiddish	18	21	9	16
Other West Germanic languages	935	280	86	61
Pennsylvania Dutch	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Dutch	725	269	85	61
Afrikaans	170	154	(B)	-
Scandinavian languages	286	128	6	9
Swedish	125	75	(D)	(D)
Danish	45	51	(B)	-
Norwegian	90	63	(B)	-
Icelandic	25	31	(B)	-
Greek	918	258	145	72
Russian	1,325	293	480	176
Polish	384	135	73	53
Serbo-Croatian languages	465	244	137	102
Serbocroatian	170	123	40	53
Croatian	195	152	80	81
Serbian	100	118	(D)	(D)
Other Slavic languages	556	196	126	88
Ukrainian	55	61	45	58
Czech	310	159	85	63
Bulgarian	95	87	(B)	-
Macedonian	95	85	(B)	-
Slovene	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Armenian	50	44	(B)	-
Persian	1,010	320	412	187
Hindi	3,236	593	885	299
Gujarati	2,630	623	674	307
Urdu	1,306	396	263	112
Other Indic languages	3,191	687	858	275
India nec3	860	461	245	198
Bengali	895	333	245	116
Panjabi	435	238	115	91
Marathi	190	83	25	28
Kashmiri	115	88	(B)	-
Nepali	555	274	225	173
Sindhi	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Pakistan nec3	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Sinhalese	120	101	(B)	-
Romany	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Other Indo-European languages	895	255	174	116
Jamaican Creole	65	45	(D)	(D)
Pidgin	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Romanian	460	168	60	54
Welsh	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Irish Gaelic	90	79	(D)	(D)
Albanian	95	94	(D)	(D)
Lithuanian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Latvian	80	58	(D)	(D)
Pashto	45	56	(D)	(D)
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES	36,312	1,666	17,798	1,233
Chinese (incl Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages4)	9,461	934	5,167	660
Chinese	7,405	867	4,275	638
Cantonese	195	91	50	38
Mandarin	1,625	377	735	325
Formosan	235	155	110	79
Japanese	1,814	379	672	243
Korean	7,475	1,008	4,092	663
Mon-Khmer, Cambodian	887	329	437	215
Hmong	208	205	67	72
Thai	828	311	434	188
Laotian	935	389	517	268
Vietnamese	6,839	983	3,659	611
Other Asian languages	3,442	541	1,295	490
Turkish	790	472	505	422
Dravidian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Telugu	1,130	259	255	140
Kannada	185	124	60	62
Malayalam	365	227	75	89
Tamil	665	271	195	117
Burmese	220	159	190	143
Mien	55	76	(D)	(D)
Tagalog	3,115	473	895	232
Other Pacific Island languages	1,308	435	563	353
Indonesian	425	346	320	339
Malay	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Bisayan	265	151	70	58
Pangasinan	50	86	(D)	(D)
Micronesian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Chamorro	70	59	(D)	(D)
Marshallese	100	65	25	33
Palau	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Ponapean	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Trukese	15	27	(D)	(D)
Samoan	195	193	(D)	(D)
Hawaiian	115	98	40	40
ALL OTHER LANGUAGES	10,044	1,164	2,673	580
Navajo	96	92	(B)	-
Other Native North American languages	650	195	61	52
Aleut	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Eskimo	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Algonquian	20	23	(B)	-
Chasta Costa	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Apache	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Kiowa	65	83	(B)	-
Sahaptian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Dakota	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Choctaw	90	91	15	20
Mikasuki	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Koasati	25	37	(B)	-
Muskogee	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Cherokee	255	162	(D)	(D)
Zuni	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
American Indian	70	53	35	45
Hungarian	145	76	30	43
Arabic	4,560	838	1,490	491
Hebrew	410	184	8	15
African languages	3,325	509	630	189
Amharic	230	117	130	75
Cushite	20	21	(B)	-
Sudanic	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Swahili	1,320	349	270	143
Bantu	240	126	25	35
Mande	140	124	75	87
Fulani	120	100	(D)	(D)
Kru, Ibo, Yoruba	1,210	371	125	72
Efik	30	35	(B)	-
Other and unspecified languages	858	434	454	256
Finnish	95	80	(B)	-
Estonian	40	48	(D)	(D)
Caucasian	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Mayan languages	430	305	305	208
Oto - Manguen	205	299	110	163
Uncodable	80	45	(D)	(D)

Notes

Number of speakers and Speak English less than "Very Well": Detailed-language estimates are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Aggregate estimates ("language category" and "language sub-category" entries) are unrounded and appear in table B16001. Detailed-language estimates may not sum to aggregate estimates because of rounding.
Margin of Error and Margin of Error: Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data. The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.
(D): Data withheld to avoid disclosure.
(B): Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate.
(X): Question does not apply.
-: Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.
3 N.E.C. stands for not elsewhere classified. These are languages where respondents indicated they spoke either Indian or Pakistan. For Indian, it cannot be determined if the respondent spoke a native American language or spoke a language from India. For Pakistan, respondents wrote in Pakistan but it cannot be determined which one of the languages spoken in Pakistan is actually being spoken. To distinguish these languages, n.e.c. is used to indicated they are not classified in any other language code.
This category includes literal write-ins of Chinese as well as Hakka, Kan, Hsiang, Cantonese, Mandarin, Fuchow, Formosan, and Wu.