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The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who are bilingual, mainly the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants. This puts the US ahead of Colombia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and second only to Mexico (121 million).
Among the sources cited in the report is the US Census Office which estimates that the US will have 138 million Spanish speakers by 2050, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on Earth, with Spanish the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.
By state the highest concentration is in the former Spanish colonies of the south and south-west, with New Mexico top at 47%, followed by California and Texas (both 38%) and Arizona (30%). Some 18% of New Yorkers speak Spanish while only 1.3% of West Virginians do. Perhaps surprisingly, more than 6% of Alaskans are Spanish speakers.
We are the third most populated country on the planet and there are no Spanish speaking countries in the top 10 most populated nations on earth. We will be the largest economy in a primarily Spanish speaking hemisphere for the foreseeable future which makes us a magnet for Spanish speaking immigration. We even welcomed thousands of spanish speaking Cubans with immediate citizenship upon arrival in an attempt to weaken the Cuban government. We also have a Spanish speaking common wealth. This should not be a surprise.
It is time to declare our official language as English.
There's no real need for this. Especially since we have a lot of regions where they don't speak English. Especially areas like Texas which were originally colonized by Spain. It was with purpose that this nation was not given an official language. Who knows, Spanish might become more dominant here one day.
I don't know why the US doesn't officially go bilingual (English/Spanish) rather than forever try to fight against the current. It'd do Americans good to learn another language, learn to adapt to others, and it'd connect the US to much more of the western hemisphere.
Should Spanish speaking immigrants learn English? SÃ. But vice versa should apply as well.
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