When expanding your business to other geographies, you must localize it. While localization can always be a challenging task, it becomes more daunting when it comes to the US market.
Wonder why?
The US market is not only commercially-fertile but also one of the most linguistically varied markets in the world.
It’s a fact that the overwhelming majority of the nation speaks English. But the surveys show that there are almost 350 different languages that people in America generally speak.
Due to being such a multilingual country, the United States is often recognized as the “melting pot” of diversity. There are so many different people and cultures living in the United States. As a result, it’s important to know what language your target audience speaks.
After all, you have to communicate with your clients, partners, and prospects. If you don’t convey your messaging in their native language, this can result in poor business communication.
Some of the Most Common Languages in the U.S.
This brings us to our next point. You must understand the common languages that Americans speak. Otherwise, how would you localize your services for them?
For your convenience, we’ve just covered a few useful languages in this blog. Please note that English is not covered in this list. With 78% of U.S. people speaking English, it’s the most obvious choice for any business looking to enter the U.S. market. We want to highlight a couple of other languages that also have huge potential.
Spanish
Spanish is the most dominant language in the United States, after English. From California to the city of New York, there are many areas where the Spanish-speaking community is prominent. The total US population that speaks Spanish is over 41 million. The country has more Spanish speakers than Spain itself. Therefore, it comes as no surprise why professional Spanish translation services are always in high demand for businesses looking to launch in the U.S.
Most Spanish speakers are located in Mexico. And the United States is just behind it. However, according to the latest Status, Spanish is among those languages which are growing at a very rapid pace in the U.S. Estimates show that between 1980 to 2013, the language has grown by 233% and is still growing. By 2050, it’s expected to hit 138 million in terms of Americans who will be speaking Spanish.
Many Spanish words and phrases are commonly used in American English. There are even cities and states that are named in Spanish. Examples include Nevada, San Francisco, Santa Ana, El Paso, Los Angeles, and more.
French
French is also another common language in the United States. It has its roots that date back to the 1700s when French colonizers controlled the lands like the Louisiana territory. So with the French settlers, their language and culture also became part of this country.
Apart from standard French, a lot of American households speak French Creole, which is actually a blend of French and African languages. If we combine the two, French becomes one of the top most common languages you will come across in the U.S. It’s one of the few languages that U.S. schools teach their students, with others being Spanish and German.
The number of U.S. residents, who speak French, is about 9.4 million. As you try to try to globalize your business, you can’t simply ignore this many potential clients. So, French translation services are always a good place to begin your US expansion plan.
Last but not least, countries in Europe will also welcome your products. Because 29 nations in Europe have French as their official language. Therefore, you can easily see that your business reach will go beyond the United States when you translate it into French.
Portuguese
There are over 1.5 million Americans who connect themselves to Portugal by birth or ancestry. The number of Brazilian Americans who live in the United States is over 300,0000.
Studies show that Portuguese is among the 12 most popular languages in the United States. It’ll be good for you to consider Portuguese translation services especially if you’re looking to target states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Portuguese-Americans are the 5th largest ethnic group in Rhode Island, for example. If we talk about Massachusetts, they are the 8th largest.
Some other benefits of Portuguese translation would be that it’s the 6th most used language on the internet. And a lot of websites are offering their services in this language.
Final words
Without a doubt, the number of languages spoken by Americans is enormous, and this article just touches the surface of it. Your best bet is to decide whether you need to target only English-based consumers or non-English too. If it includes non-English, then you must understand if there are any particular states you want to make your mark in. In short, be very clear about your language preferences. Once you know what languages to translate into, you can easily overcome any language barriers with the help of linguistic service providers. However, be aware that you only hire professional services. Otherwise, you may get poor translations which can hamper your US launch.