page_title: Languages of the United States
section_title: French
hierarchical_section_title: Languages of the United States / African, Asian and European languages / French
caption_attribution_description: English: Distribution of French in the United States. &#160;&#160; &lt;6% of the county's population speaks French at home &#160;&#160; 6–12% &#160;&#160; 12–18% &#160;&#160; &gt;18% Cajun French and French-based creole languages are not included. Français&#160;: Distribution du français aux Etats-Unis. &#160;&#160; &lt;6% de la population du comté parle français à la maison &#160;&#160; 6–12% &#160;&#160; 12–18% &#160;&#160; &gt;18% Le Cajun et les créoles à base lexicale française ne sont pas pris en compte.
context_page_description: Although the United States does not have an official language, the most commonly used language is English, which is the de facto national language. Many other languages are also spoken in the United States, especially Spanish. These include indigenous languages, languages brought to the country by colonists, enslaved people and immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia. There are also several languages, including creoles and sign languages, that developed in the United States. Approximately 430 languages are spoken or signed by the population, of which 176 are indigenous to the area. Fifty-two languages formerly spoken in the country's territory are now extinct.
context_section_description: French, the fourth-most-common language (when all varieties of French are combined and separate yet related languages such as Haitian Creole are counted as French), is spoken mainly by the Louisiana Creole, native French, Cajun, Haitian, and French-Canadian populations. It is widely spoken in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and in Louisiana, with notable Francophone enclaves in St. Clair County, Michigan, many rural areas of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the northern San Francisco Bay area. Because of its legacy in Louisiana, that state is served by the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), the only state agency in the United States whose mission is to serve a linguistic population, which registered Louisiana as an observer in the economic and cultural Organisation internationale de la Francophonie in 2018.
  Three varieties of French developed within what is now the United States in colonial times: Louisiana French, Missouri French, and New England French (essentially a variant of Canadian French). French is the second language in the states of Louisiana and Maine. The largest French-speaking communities in the United States reside in Northeast Maine; Hollywood and Miami, Florida; New York City; certain areas of rural Louisiana; and small minorities in Vermont and New Hampshire. Many of the New England communities are connected to the dialect found across the border in Quebec or New Brunswick. More than 13 million Americans possess primary French heritage, but only 2 million speak French or a French Creole language at home.
caption: French language distribution in the United States. Counties and parishes marked in yellow are those where 6% to 12% of the population speak French at home; brown, 12% to 18%; red, over 18%. Cajun French and French-based creole languages are not included even though the Creole dialects are spoken throughout the U.S. and taught in many U.S. schools.
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