Languages spoken in Rhode Island


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 Rhode Island

Table showing languages spoken in Rhode Island






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
  • Armenian
  • Persian
  • Hindi
  • Gujarati
  • Urdu
  • Other Indic languages
  • Other Indo-European languages

    • ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES
  • Chinese (incl. Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages)
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Mon-Khmer, Cambodian
  • Hmong
  • Thai
  • Laotian
  • Vietnamese
  • Other Asian languages
  • Tagalog
  • Other Pacific Island languages

    • ALL OTHER LANGUAGES
  • Navajo
  • Other Native North American languages
  • Hungarian
  • Arabic
  • Hebrew
  • African languages
  • Other and unspecified languages



    • BY STATE
    BY COUNTY
    BY CITY
    LanguageNumber of speakersMargin of ErrorSpeak English less than "Very Well"Margin of Error
    Population 5 years and over995,75721186,1682,178
    Speak only English at home785,3833,028(X)(X)
    Speak a language other than English at home210,3743,01886,1682,178
    SPANISH AND SPANISH CREOLE109,4571,30250,0731,442
    Spanish109,4551,30250,0751,442
    OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES71,9702,61023,0121,230
    French (incl Patois, Cajun)10,6508722,029320
    French10,6508722,030320
    French Creole6,3218132,367386
    Italian8,0038801,762322
    Portuguese (incl Portuguese Creole)32,1591,65313,063877
    Portuguese32,1001,66213,065877
    Papia Mentae6062(B)-
    German (incl Luxembourgian)1,63328225986
    German1,62028326086
    Luxembourgian(D)(D)(B)-
    Yiddish6642712
    Other West Germanic languages2241056561
    Pennsylvania Dutch(D)(D)(B)-
    Dutch15089(D)(D)
    Afrikaans7067(D)(D)
    Scandinavian languages5231922429
    Swedish235126(D)(D)
    Danish165145(B)-
    Norwegian11082(D)(D)
    Icelandic(D)(D)(B)-
    Greek1,976501350138
    Russian1,719369773194
    Polish2,149428641181
    Serbo-Croatian languages2942123742
    Serbocroatian155151(D)(D)
    Croatian100153(B)-
    Serbian(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Other Slavic languages48917813597
    Ukrainian30516212095
    Czech(D)(D)(B)-
    Slovak4040(B)-
    Bulgarian10565(D)(D)
    Slovene(D)(D)(B)-
    Armenian1,04829115367
    Persian3262328152
    Hindi8792525846
    Gujarati479281181118
    Urdu461205160114
    Other Indic languages1,736540672417
    India nec33702231517
    Bengali500204185119
    Panjabi(D)(D)(B)-
    Marathi135102(D)(D)
    Rajasthani(D)(D)(B)-
    Oriya5057(D)(D)
    Nepali575415350330
    Sindhi85129(D)(D)
    Romany(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Other Indo-European languages835209195110
    Jamaican Creole85111(D)(D)
    Krio(D)(D)(B)-
    Catalonian(D)(D)(B)-
    Romanian2251547569
    Irish Gaelic5542(D)(D)
    Scottic Gaelic(D)(D)(B)-
    Albanian6043(D)(D)
    Lithuanian160110(D)(D)
    Latvian12063(D)(D)
    Pashto7595(D)(D)
    ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES21,24697810,505722
    Chinese (incl Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages4)6,0737143,353529
    Chinese4,4906352,720458
    Hakka(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Cantonese535193205108
    Mandarin860305305153
    Formosan160171110123
    Japanese49817518895
    Korean1,114300568203
    Mon-Khmer, Cambodian4,2877892,143411
    Hmong666292301152
    Thai52219418271
    Laotian3,1726261,540362
    Vietnamese1,067420593259
    Other Asian languages1,480408635291
    Kazakh7575(D)(D)
    Turkish400219195159
    Mongolian(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Telugu11075(B)-
    Kannada(D)(D)(B)-
    Malayalam175115(B)-
    Tamil475256245211
    Tibetan80123(D)(D)
    Burmese12012495100
    Tagalog2,151473943328
    Other Pacific Island languages2161115953
    Indonesian13586(D)(D)
    Malay(D)(D)(B)-
    Bisayan40673048
    Sebuano(D)(D)(B)-
    Ilocano(D)(D)(B)-
    Pampangan(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Polynesian(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Hawaiian(D)(D)(B)-
    ALL OTHER LANGUAGES7,7019632,578519
    Navajo917(B)-
    Other Native North American languages1901422235
    Dakota(D)(D)(D)(D)
    American Indian175137(D)(D)
    Hungarian1611116564
    Arabic2,9206311,083321
    Hebrew390163(B)-
    African languages3,6585661,264320
    Amharic205188155167
    Cushite(D)(D)(B)-
    Swahili8577(B)-
    Bantu1551126569
    Mande23518411097
    Fulani4652409573
    Kru, Ibo, Yoruba2,435469795266
    Efik(D)(D)(B)-
    African6050(D)(D)
    Other and unspecified languages37314314494
    Finnish7560(D)(D)
    Estonian(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Caucasian(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Basque3047(B)-
    Syriac11094(D)(D)
    Mayan languages(D)(D)(D)(D)
    Uncodable7046(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.


    Surnames by race:  Asian   |  Black   |  Hispanic   |  Native American   |  Two or More Races   |  White

    Surnames Alphabetical:  A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

    Most Common Male Names:  1-300  |   301-600  |   601-900  |   901+  |   Alphabetical list

    Most Common Female Names:  1-1000 1001-2000  |   2001-3000  |   3001+  |   Alphabetical list

    Popular Baby Names in the U.S. (Historic)  Boys: 1-250  |  251-500  |  501-750  |  751-1000        Girls: 1-250  |  251-500  |  501-750  |  751-1000

    Ancestry in the United States:  Ancestry by city  |   Mexican  |   German  |   Irish  |   English  |   African American  |   More



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