Americas List of multilingual countries and regions

a trash can in seattle labeled in 4 languages: english, chinese (垃圾), vietnamese (should rác), , spanish. tagalog uses spanish word.



argentina has several ethnic communities of european (esp. welsh language in patagonia), asian , indigenous origins (the andean , northeast regions), speak own languages, spanish sole official language of country.
aruba: papiamento , dutch official languages, spanish , english spoken. 4 languages taught in schools.
belize: english, spanish , mayan languages have official usage, although legacy of british rule emphasised english commonly used official purposes though majority hispanophone.
bolivia officially multilingual, supporting spanish , 36 native languages.
brazil, portuguese (official) , upwards 100 languages spoken in urban areas (european , asian) , indigenous languages in amazon. use of indigenous languages in primary education enshrined in constitution.

espírito santo — german , east pomeranian recognized constitution part of state s cultural heritage

canada officially bilingual under official languages act , constitution of canada require federal government deliver services in both official languages. well, minority language rights guaranteed numbers warrant. 56.9% of population speak english first language while 22.9% native speakers of french. remaining population belong of canada s many immigrant populations or indigenous population. see bilingualism in canada

the canadian province of new brunswick, large acadian population (33% french-speaking) officially bilingual.
the canadian province of quebec, (7.9% english-speaking) note: although there relatively sizable english-speaking population in quebec, french official language of provincial government. @ same time, functions in education foreseen english, amerindian languages , inuktitut, functions in legislative activities , judiciary - english. many government services available in english , french.
there significant french language minorities in provinces of manitoba, nova scotia, ontario , prince edward island. though these provinces not officially bilingual provide number of services in french, ontario has particular french language services act , manitoba — french language services policy, special law on recognition of 7 indigenous languages
nunavut canadian territory population 85% inuit. according official languages act, official languages inuit, english , french.
northwest territories have chipewyan, cree, english, french, gwich’in, inuinnaqtun, inuktitut, inuvialuktun, north slavey, south slavey , tåîchô official languages
yukon allows use of yukon languages in legislative assembly, along french , english
in many of canada s first nations communities in more isolated regions, aboriginal languages retained. english , french accepted in community @ community elders discretion.
in 2006 canadian census, information , questions available in sixty-two languages, including eighteen first nations languages.


caribbean netherlands — dutch (overall), english (sint eustatius , saba) , papiamentu (bonaire)
chile uses de facto spanish official language, there not act declares officiality. indigenous act ratified in 1992 permites official usage of 4 indigenous languages: aimara, mapudungun, quechua , rapa nui (easter island in polynesia) inside indigenous communities , areas high native population density. in southern portion, there sizable bilingual german-speaking population.
colombia official language spanish. languages of ethnic groups official in territories.

english co-official in san andres , providencia.
curaçao — papiamento, dutch , english official languages.
ecuador defines spanish official language, spanish, quechua , shuar — official languages of intercultural relations in article 2 of 2008 constitution.
in guatemala, official language spanish, however, there 23 distinct mayan languages. maya, garifuna , xincan languages recognized essential elements of national identity.
guyana, english (official), hindi, chinese, indigenous languages, , small portuguese-speaking community. amerindian act orders national toshaos council promote recognition , use of amerindian languages.
haiti: creole , french
honduras: spanish official language, despite afro-caribbean english, garifuna , indigenous languages can found in rural outskirts of country.
mexico: government recognizes 62 indigenous languages, including nahuatl spoken more 1.5 million people , aquacatec spoken 27 people, along spanish. indigenous languages recognised national languages in areas spoken there no official language @ federal level, although spanish de facto state language.

in yucatán, yucatec maya language recognised in state constitution
in oaxaca state constitution, 15 indigenous communities listed. use of languages in education , court proceedings provided for.
in campeche state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts , teaching them in schools provided for
in quintana roo state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts , education provided for; also, laws published in maya language
in chihuahua state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts, education, health care , government-disseminated information provided for
in chiapas state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts , education provided for


in nicaragua, while spanish official language spoken broadwide (almost 95%, according sources), there other de facto languages such creole, miskitu, rama , mayangna (sumu) in own linguistic communities. according constitution, languages of atlantic coasts should used officially in cases established law.
paraguay, 48% of population bilingual in guaraní , spanish (both official languages of republic), of whom 37% speak guaraní , 8% spanish latter increases use of jopará. there large mennonite german colony in gran chaco region well.
peru s official languages spanish and, in zones predominant, quechua, aymara, , other aboriginal languages. in addition that, in peru there large community of immigrants, of few keep languages. within those, there japanese , chinese (cantonese dialect), example , in smaller numbers, germans (central andes), italian, arabic speakers, , urdu speakers retain native languages in peru. last 2 products of recent wave of immigrants palestine , pakistan. lately have influence english number of tourists , american , british residents.
puerto rico s official languages , languages of legislature spanish , english, yet 85 percent of inhabitants reported did not speak english well.
in suriname, dutch, sranan, , english spoken everyone. in addition, chinese , various indian languages spoken.
in united states, @ federal level, there no official language, although there have been efforts make english official language. use of several languages in electoral process under circumstances provided federal law, including spanish in whole states of florida, california , texas.

the state of california has dymally-alatorre bilingual services act requiring state , local agencies serving “substantial number of non-english speaking people” employ “qualified bilingual staff” , translate documents clients’ languages.
the state of new mexico provides guarantees use of spanish, alongside english, in constitution , electoral laws. state laws provide using spanish , native american languages in education
the state of new york provides translation of vital documents , interpretation 6 languages alongside english.
the state of texas provides in law translating spanish information on agency websites
the state of louisiana has mandated louisiana french language services program , department of culture, recreation , tourism work on providing state government services in french, extent practicable expressly allows use of french in legal process , publishing official documents.
the saint john river valley in state of maine , areas in vermont unofficially bilingual (de facto) in english , french.
the state of hawaii officially bilingual in english , hawaiian.
the state of alaska officially recognizes english , following twenty alaska native languages: inupiaq, siberian yupik, central alaskan yup ik, alutiiq, unanga, dena ina, deg xinag, holikachuk, koyukon, upper kuskokwim, gwich in, tanana, upper tanana, tanacross, hän, ahtna, eyak, tlingit, haida, tsimshian languages.
three territories bilingual: american samoa (samoan , english), , puerto rico (spanish , english). guam code provides bilingual education (english , chamorro). 1 territory trilingual: northern marianas islands (english, chamorro, , carolinian).
in us, states large historic (new spain) , arrived spanish-speaking population such california, nevada, arizona, colorado, , florida provide government services @ municipal level in spanish english. example, in florida, hialeah recognizes both english , spanish while miami recognizes english , spanish official government languages.
some indian reservations in have begun use indigenous languages of tribal nations, official language of reservations english. prevalent indigenous languages include choctaw, cherokee, navajo, muscogee, lakota-sioux , iroquoian.


trinidad , tobago - in predominantly creole-speaking country english official, spanish being introduced second language of bilingual traffic signs , first foreign language
uruguay has large italian-speaking minority proficient in spanish. border brazil has mixed portuguese-speaking presence.
venezuela has declared spanish official language, while there european , arabic languages spoken in urban areas, caribbean english dialects in caribbean , indigenous languages spoken in guayana department. use of native languages has official status native peoples




^ language speak in aruba? dutch & papiamento - aruba.com . aruba.com. 
^ bolivian constitution archived 2009-05-21 @ wayback machine., article 5-i: son idiomas oficiales del estado el castellano y todos los idiomas de las naciones y pueblos indígena originario campesinos, que son el aymara, araona, baure, bésiro, canichana, cavineño, cayubaba, chácobo, chimán, ese ejja, guaraní, guarasu we, guarayu, itonama, leco, machajuyai-kallawaya, machineri, maropa, mojeño-trinitario, mojeño-ignaciano, moré, mosetén, movima, pacawara, puquina, quechua, sirionó, tacana, tapieté, toromona, uru-chipaya, weenhayek, yawanawa, yuki, yuracaré y zamuco.
^ constitution of federative republic of brazil art. 13, 210, 231
^ constituição estado espírito santo art. 182.
^ http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/karten/germ/deutdin.htm
^ http://www.lerncafe.de/aus-der-welt-1142/articles/pommern-in-brasilien.html
^ canadian charter of rights , freedoms. sections 16-20 archived 2016-01-10 @ wayback machine.
^ charter of french language archived 2012-06-23 @ wayback machine. sections 7, 9, 73, 81, 87
^ french language services policy
^ aboriginal languages recognition act . gov.mb.ca. 
^ official languages act art. 3
^ official languages act art. 4
^ languages act art. 3-6
^ wetten.nl - wet- en regelgeving - invoeringswet openbare lichamen bonaire, sint eustatius en saba - bwbr0028063 . overheid.nl. 
^ indigenous act - ley indígena . leychile.cl. chilean national congress library. october 5, 1993. retrieved september 26, 2015. 
^ constitution of colombia article 10
^ ley 47 de 1993 (febrero 19) por la cual se dictan normas especiales para la organización y el funcionamiento del departamento archipiélago de san andrés, providencia y santa catalina art. 42(in spanish)
^ on curaçao archived 2013-09-21 @ wayback machine. (in dutch)
^ archived copy (pdf). archived original (pdf) on 2009-03-20. retrieved 2009-05-04. 
^ ley de idiomas nacionales archived 2007-09-27 @ wayback machine. articulo 1-3(in spanish)
^ amerindian act, 2006 art. 41
^ constitution of haiti art. 5
^ ley general de derechos lingüísticos de los pueblos indígenas archived 2008-06-11 @ wayback machine. art. 4 (in spanish)
^ constituciÓn polÍtica del estado de yucatÁn artículo 7 bis.(in spanish)
^ constitution of oaxaca art. 12, 16, 126(in spanish)
^ constitution of campeche art. 7(in spanish)
^ constitution of quintana roo art.13(in spanish) see pages 20-22
^ constitution of chihuahua art. 6, 8-10, 143, 155(in spanish)
^ constitution of chiapas art. 4, 7(in spanish)
^ political constitution of republic of nicaragua article 11
^ political constitution of 1992 art. 140(in spanish)
^ constitution of peru article 48
^ ley n° 29735, ley que regula el uso, preservación, desarrollo, recuperación, fomento y difusión de las lenguas originarias del perú(in spanish)
^ nancy morris (1995). puerto rico: culture, politics, , identity. praeger/greenwood. p. 62. isbn 0275952282.  + crawford j. puerto rico , official english 1997
^ constitution of commonwealth of puerto rico article iii
^ voting rights act amendments of 2006, determinations under section 203 archived 2014-01-08 @ webcite bureau of census, department of commerce
^ dymally-alatorre bilingual services act
^ summary of language access laws in california
^ constitution of state of new mexico article vii, sec. 3; article xii, sec. 8.; article xx, sec. 12; excerpts relating spanish
^ deborah baker spanish not ‘enshrined’ official n.m. language albuquerque journal 2013
^ bilingual multicultural education act; technical assistance manual implementing bilingual multicultural education , title iii programs pp. ix-x; ginger c. stull language, borders , education: language policy , making of new mexico , arizona working papers in educational linguistics volume 27, number 1 p. 24 (p. 6 — numbered in file)
^ language access new york state department of labor; governor cuomo announces new york state agencies provide free language access services governor of new york
^ government code. title 10. general government. subtitle b. information , planning. chapter 2054. information resources. section 2054.116
^ louisiana revised statutes. title 25 libraries, museums, , other scientific see rs 25:671 rs 25:674
^ louisiana revised statutes. title 43 §204. advertisements in english; duplication in french permitted
^ long-scorned in maine, french has renaissance new york times
^ french language university of maine
^ parlez-vous français? maine s acadian youth, answer non al jazeera
^ in maine, little french goes long way public radio international
^ bilingual u.s. – french vermont boston language institute
^ burlington votes add french signs cbc
^ article xv constitution of state of hawaii
^ alaska oks bill making native languages official . npr.org. 21 april 2014. 
^ samoa official language of instruction in american samoa . radio new zealand. 2 october 2008. 
^ revised constitution of american samoa article i, section 3
^ guam code annotated, title 17. education: chapter 4 curriculum , texts § 4101. english language required. chapter 8 chamorro language , cultural education
^ article xxii northern mariana islands commonwealth constitution
^ spanish road signs quite correct . trinidad , tobago s newsday. october 10, 2008. 
^ spanish implementation secretariat
^ constitution of bolivarian republic of venezuela art. 9