Why You Might Need a Translator in America

“Why would I need a translator in America when everyone speaks English?” If you’ve ever thought this, then you need a quick lesson on foreign languages in the United States. Otherwise, you could be costing your business a huge opportunity.

First of all, the U.S. doesn’t have a de jure national language, unlike most other countries. English is the merely the de facto language since most people speak it. Think of it this way: there’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution that says that we have to speak English. But what language is the Constitution written in? Exactly.

That being said, there are plenty of bilingual Americans. Some of them even learned English as a second language.

A recent Slate article shows a map of the most popular second languages in the U.S. for each state. Here are the five languages that show up:

• Spanish
• French
• German
• Yupik
• Tagalog

It’s not surprise that Spanish is the most popular second language in the U.S.. But here are the additional languages the map shows when Spanish is taken out of the equation:

• Vietnamese
• Russian
• Navajo
• Korean
• Italian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Chinese
• Dakota
• Hmong
• Arabic
• French Creole

There might be languages in that list that you’ve never even heard of.

So what’s the point of all this? It shows how popular foreign languages are in the United States. Regardless if bilingual Americans can speak English, they may feel more comfortable expressing themselves in another language.

Depending on where your business is located, this dynamic could play a huge role in your marketing efforts. You may need to translate your content from time to time so you’re not ignoring members of your target audience. If this is the case, then you should consider hiring a translator in America.

To talk more about hiring a translator in America, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks.