Languages in North America and Caribbean

The principal languages of North America and the Caribbean are English, Spanish and French. For example, English is the national language of the United States of America (USA) and Jamaica, Spanish is the national language of Mexico and Cuba, and French is the national language of Haiti and one of the two national languages of Canada.

Many people in North America and the Caribbean also speak other languages. For example, approximately 40 million people of Latin American origin in the USA speak Spanish and approximately 6 million Mexicans, 6 million Guatemalans and 1 million Canadians speak indigenous languages.

The majority of Mexicans speak English. They graduate from secondary school with excellent English. They do not study English at university. The use of English is specially common in Durango, Aguascalientes and Hidalgo, but it is not common in Cancun, Acapulco and Mexico city.