Language Diversity in Present-Day America

What is the official language of the United States? If your answer was English, you were partially correct. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States, used as a formal language, but not an official one. In fact, only twenty-eight of the fifty states have declared English as their official language.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census report, only 82.1 percent of the U.S. population consisted solely of English speakers. While English remained as the dominant language, other languages continued to be used throughout the country.

Data obtained from the census also revealed that 10.7 percent of the population spoke Spanish, 3.8 percent spoke Indo-European languages, 2.7 spoke Asian and Pacific Islander languages, and 0.7 percent spoke other languages.

Because of the language variety in the country today, businesses in the United States market would certainly benefit from assessing possible language barrier issues in their business approach. Translation and transcreation of documents, labels, and even website material would create an opportunity for consumers to understand a business’ services and objectives.

Although English is spoken by the majority of Americans, present-day businesses must keep in mind the accessibility available to every consumer.

Although English is spoken by the majority of Americans, present-day businesses must keep in mind the accessibility available to every consumer. This means that as far as language goes, it is becoming increasingly necessary for important documents, forms, and other written public displays such as sings and websites to be translated.

Think about the needs of the average person regarding services from the different kinds of industries in the business sector. Organizations in fields such as governmental organizations, hospitals, schools and even home utility services must be available for the accessibility of consumers.

Today, language translation may be the best way to approach consumers with an attitude that demonstrates not only an organization’s interest for doing business, but an approach to make consumers comfortable with the products and services they are obtaining.

Businesses from a range of industries catering to the needs of Americans around the country should keep in mind that language barriers exist in the American market and language variation might be a solution to enhance a business’ target strategy.

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