What is Michigan’s Other Second Language?
Courses are offered at nearly every university, or trade school for "English as a Second Language." It's mostly for immigrants who move here, but need to learn the language so they can easily move through the every day.
And while English is obviously the first language of the Untied States, there are actually many second languages spoken across the country, and Michigan's is actually kind of surprising.
It's no surprise that aside from English, Spanish is easily the largest second language in the country. Mostly in the south, and southwest, the Spanish-speaking community has now stretched across the country as jobs became available for them. BUT, what you might not know is there are a LOT of other languages still spoken in the United States.
It continues to add to the idea that this is a melting pot of a country, and no one belief, culture, or even language is the end-all be-all.
Take for instance our fellow Midwest states.
In this most recent survey from Visualcapitalist.com, It makes sense that a lot of people in Indiana and Wisconsin still speak German. Indiana still has a fairly strong Amish and Mennonite population that speaks a form of German, or old Dutch. But those states also benefitted from German immigrants traveling from their landing point in the United States at New York, and across the Great Lakes.
Along with them is a large Polish community, which interestingly enough, settled mostly in Chicago, Illinois. In fact, Illinois is the only state in the country where Polish is the second language, behind Spanish.
So what are Michigan (and Ohio's) second languages?
It's Arabic!
You would think, along with the immigrants from Europe, and even our French Canadian friends to the north, Michigan would be much more European-influenced in their other languages. But now, concentrations of Arabic communities in Detroit and Toledo, pushed Michigan and Ohio over the edge, and made Arabic our state's second language (aside from Spanish).
That being said, each state does have its unique pockets of other cultures. and you can still find areas that speak German, French, and even Eastern Asian languages like Hmong and Chinese in the Midwest.
Did you think this would be Michigan, or Ohio's other second language?
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