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Official and Regional Languages of North America on a Map

Can you name these 42 national and regional languages shown on the map of North America?
Read the extensive caveats in the comments
Quiz by Jiaozira
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Last updated: March 17, 2024
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First submittedApril 15, 2023
Times taken5,384
Average score26.2%
Rating4.88
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Show unguessed languages
 
=
Indo-European
 
 
 
 
 
=
Creole
 
 
 
 
 
=
Na-Dené
 
 
 
 
 
=
Misumalpan
 
 
 
 
 
=
Eskimo–Aleut
 
 
 
 
Germanic
252 mil speakers
 
L1
Language
251 mil
English
270 k
Dutch
 
 
 
 
Romance
245 mil speakers
 
L1
Language
235 mil
Spanish
10 mil
French
 
 
 
 
French Creole
9.6 mil speakers
 
L1
Language
9.6 mil
Haitian Creole
 
 
 
 
English Creole
3.2 mil speakers
 
L1
Language
3.2 mil
Jamaican Patois
 
 
 
 
Portuguese Creole
341 k speakers
 
L1
Language
341 k
Papiamento
 
 
 
 
Southern Athabascan
170 k speakers
 
L1
Language
170 k
Navajo
 
 
 
 
 
=
Algonquin
 
 
 
 
 
=
Arawakan
 
 
 
 
 
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Siouan
 
 
 
 
 
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Muscogean
 
 
 
 
 
=
Iroquoian
 
 
 
 
Northern Athabascan
16 k speakers
 
 
L1
Language
11 k
Chipewyan
2.1 k
Slavey
1.7 k
Dogrib
560
Gwichʼin
110
Upper Tanana
75
Denaʼina
65
Koyukon
60
Tanacross
45
Ahtna
20
Hän
15
Lower Tanana
14
Deg Xinag
5
Upper Kuskokwim
 
 
 
 
Na-Dené Isolate
1.3 k speakers
 
 
L1
Speakers
1.3 k
Tlingit
 
 
 
 
Misumalpan
149 k speakers
 
L1
Speakers
140 k
Miskito
9.0 k
Sumo
 
 
 
 
Inuit
99 k speakers
 
L1
Language
57 k
Greenlandic
39 k
Inuktitut
2.1 k
Iñupiaq
680
Inuvialuktun
 
=
Tsimshianic
 
 
 
 
 
=
Chibchan
 
 
 
 
 
=
Language isolate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yupik
20 k speakers
 
 
L1
Language
19 k
Yupʼik
1.0 k
Central Siberian Yupik
200
Alutiiq
 
 
 
 
Aleut
150 speakers
 
 
L1
Language
150
Aleut
 
 
 
 
Algonquin
96 k speakers
 
L1
Language
96 k
Cree
 
 
 
 
Ta-Arawakan
50 k speakers
 
L1
Language
50 k
Garifuna
 
 
 
 
Siouan
25 k speakers
 
L1
Language
25 k
Sioux
 
 
 
 
Muscogean
14 k speakers
 
L1
Language
9.6 k
Choctaw
4.5 k
Muscogee
 
 
 
 
Iroquoian
5.3 k speakers
 
L1
Language
3.8 k
Mohawk
1.5 k
Cherokee
 
 
 
 
Tsimshianic
2.2 k speakers
 
L1
Speakers
2.2 k
Tsimshianic languages
 
 
 
 
Votic
740 speakers
 
L1
Speakers
740
Rama
 
 
 
 
Language isolate
24 speakers
 
L1
Speakers
24
Haida
Jiaozira
+4
Level 70
Apr 15, 2023
Only one continent left to go!

As the most heavily colonised continent/s, the Americas are the most linguistically homogenous regions in the world today (not counting diverse metropolitan areas). Still, there are many indigenous and creole languages which are official in various states, provinces, regions and reservations, and through a quiz like this, I hope quiz-takers can learn more about the Indigenous language families.

Language borders in the north are much more approximate, as the population density is scarce. Additionally, borders in Northern Canada and Alaska are largely pre-contact, while in the lower 48 states they are closer to modern reserve borders. This becomes clearer when you look at some of the massive land areas on the map, representing just 50 people. Many of the Indigenous people were nomadic, and so this makes the areas on the map even larger.

Jiaozira
+4
Level 70
Apr 15, 2023
I removed extinct languages from the map, which you can see via the two gaps in Alaska. By the time the next US census is taken, it is possible that another language will be taken off the quiz. Many of these languages are severely endangered or even moribund (meaning their extinction is inevitable), and as we lose the elder generations who make up the bulk of Indigenous-language speakers, we can expect the numbers to drop rapidly for many of these languages despite revitalisation efforts.

Some fun facts: the Yupik languages are unique, as they are some of the only Indigenous American languages to be spoken on mainland Russia. The Garifuna language is especially interesting, as it is the only Arawakan language spoken outside of South America, and it is spoken by a mixed black-Indigenous Caribbean people. They have a fascinating culture and I recommend reading more into it.

chelsea97
+9
Level 78
Apr 15, 2023
Great quiz, really enjoyed it! Why are no Mexican (or Central American) indigenous languages mentioned? Mexico has so a lot of indigenous speakers (much more than a lot of languages mentioned in this quiz), like Nahuatl, Mixtec, Zapotec etc.
Jiaozira
+5
Level 70
Apr 15, 2023
I meant to mention this in the grey comments above, but for whatever reason Mexico does not recognise any languages or make them official at the national or regional level. Even Spanish is not an official language of Mexico. As this quiz is concerned which official designations, unfortunately we are missing out on some very interesting languages indeed.

Thanks for playing and good question by the way :)

chelsea97
+5
Level 78
Apr 15, 2023
Ah that makes sense. Truly surprised none of the Mexican states or most Central American countries don't recognise other widely spoken languages
Damangio
+2
Level 64
Apr 17, 2023
You have misspelled Tlingit.
Jiaozira
+2
Level 70
Apr 17, 2023
Fixed, thank you.
Demetre
+2
Level 75
Jul 12, 2023
Great quiz.

What're your thoughts on including Louisiana Creole? I understand it, and Louisiana French enjoy a special status in that state, with legal recognition.

Jiaozira
+3
Level 70
Jul 12, 2023
This is a good idea and I want to look into this. From what I can tell, Louisiana Creole has a slightly ambiguous but recognised status in Louisiana, like most other American states and language recognition. However, this would be enough to add it to the quiz.
Demetre
+3
Level 75
Jul 13, 2023
Yeah from what I understand, Louisiana has no official language but has protected Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole and provides services in them. It's a shame other states don't do it with their unique linguistic communities. Some other fascinating ones like Pennsylvania Dutch, Gullah, Alaskan Russian, and many many native ones could certainly be better protected.
maxtil
+3
Level 62
Jul 12, 2023
The three islands where Papiamento is spoken are Dutch territories right? So why aren't they speaking dutch?
Jiaozira
+2
Level 70
Jul 12, 2023
The reason is that when the Dutch took control of the islands, they never imposed the Dutch language, but rather it grew more present as a prestige / administrative language in the 20th Century. As a result, the majority of people on these islands (the ABC islands) speak Papiamento as a first language (a mixture of mostly Portuguese Creole plus Spanish and West African influences).
Anonymous99
+2
Level 55
Dec 5, 2023
Great quiz

But shouldn't Ojibwe be here as well?

Jiaozira
+1
Level 70
Dec 5, 2023
Thank you! Although Ojibwe is widely spoken, for a First Nations language today, I couldn't find a jurisdiction that made it an official language.
ooftownroad
+3
Level 61
Feb 7, 2024
Will you ever do South America?
Jiaozira
+3
Level 70
Feb 8, 2024
It's in the early stages, It's harder than expected to finalise the list of languages.
Nathaniel
+1
Level 74
Mar 17, 2024
The header of Tsimshianic reads "Tsimshaniac"
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