The ties between the United States and Spanish-speaking countries are much greater than society realizes. For example, very few people know that much of today’s U.S. territory once belonged to the Spanish Empire. In addition, migration has played its part and has directly influenced these ties. With this in mind, experts estimate that in a few years, Spanish could even replace English as the main language in the United States.
All these phenomena have made Spanish one of the most widely spoken languages in the United States. In fact, it is the second country in the world with the highest number of inhabitants who speak Spanish. This is a rather shocking fact that very few people know.
As we said, the historical links and the increase in migration have led some researchers to make predictions that were unthinkable in previous years. One of them has to do with the percentage of the population that will speak Spanish in the United States in a few decades.
Among all these forecasts, the most risky is the one made by Humberto López Morales, who went so far as to assure that Spanish will become the main language in the United States. As he explained, the stage has been set to know when this unexpected phenomenon will occur.
The growth of Spanish in the U.S.
The growth of the Hispanic population in the United States is impressive and it is absolutely true that there are already cities where Spanish is more common than English. A clear example of this is Laredo, a city located in southern Texas, where the Latino population is impressive.
In this place, a little more than 250,000 inhabitants speak only Spanish. This is 90% of the population, which chooses Spanish as its main language. This is mainly due to Latino immigration, which has been steady over the past two decades. But Laredo is not the only city where this happens. Other examples are:
- Mac Allen: 90,000 inhabitants speak Spanish.
- El Paso: about 482,000 inhabitants are Spanish-speaking.
- San Antonio: 61.2% of the population is of Hispanic origin.
- Brownsville-Harlingen: 72.5% of residents communicate in Spanish.
When will Spanish replace English as the main language in the United States?
In an interview with the newspaper La Razón, Huberto López Morales said that the replacement of Spanish by English as the main language in the United States will take place in 2050. “Today we are 7.5% of the world’s population. In 2030, 7.5%, and in 2050, if things don’t change, 10% of the planet will be understood in Spanish. Let’s hope so,” said the expert.
For the moment, the data are quite encouraging. Statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau show that the Hispanic population represents almost 71% of the total population growth nationwide. It also reaches 65.2 million people, which is equivalent to 19.5% of the total.
Be careful with projections
Although conditions look good, projections as to whether Spanish will become the primary language in the United States should be viewed with caution. According to the Census Bureau, by 2060, the Hispanic population will represent approximately 28% of the U.S. population. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are factors that could cause Spanish to be lost among native speakers.
For this reason, it is essential to consider factors such as linguistic assimilation and trends towards bilingualism in younger generations, whether for social, occupational or educational reasons. And while Spanish is still a widely spoken language in the home, English is also common among the descendants of Hispanic immigrants.
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