Chinese language in the United States
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Chinese language, mostly Yue varieties including Taishanese and Cantonese, are collectively the third most-spoken language in the United States, and are mostly spoken within Chinese American populations and by immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, especially in California and New York. Over 2 million Americans speak varieties of Chinese, with Standard Chinese becoming increasingly common due to immigration from mainland China and to some extent Taiwan. Despite being called dialects or varieties, Cantonese, Taishanese, and Mandarin etc. are not mutually intellegibile. When asked census forms and surveys, respondents will only answer with "Chinese".
According to data reported on the 2000 US Census long-form, 259,750 people spoke "Cantonese", with 58.62% percent residing in California and the next most with 16.19% in New York. The actual number of Cantonese speakers was probably higher. In the 1982-83 school year, 29,908 students in California were reported to be using Cantonese as their primary home language. Approximately 16,000 of these students were identified as limited English proficient (LEP).
According to data reported on the 2000 US Census long-form, 84,590 people spoke "Formosan" (Taiwanese Hokkien). The county with the most Formosan speakers was Los Angeles County with 21,990 (0.250% of County population) followed by Orange County with Orange County, California with 5,855 (0.222% of County population). The county with the highest percentage of Formosan speakers was Calhoun County, Texas at 0.845% (160) followed by Fort Bend County, Texas at 0.286% (935) and Los Angeles County, California. According to data collected from 2005-2009 by the American Community Survey, 76,822 people spoke Formosan.
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