French is the second most studied language in the world after English.
The French language is spoken as a minority language in the United States. Roughly 1.18 million Americans over the age of five reported speaking the language at home in the federal 2020 American Community Survey, making French the seventh most spoken language in the country after English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic. Several varieties of French evolved in what is now the United States:Acadian French, spoken in Northern Maine by descendants of colonists in Acadia Louisiana French, spoken in Louisiana by descendants of colonists in French Louisiana New England French, spoken in New England by descendants of 19th and 20th-century Canadian migrants Missouri French, spoken in Missouri by descendants of French settlers in the Illinois Country Muskrat French, spoken in Michigan by descendants of habitants, voyageurs and coureurs des bois in the Pays d'en Haut Métis French, spoken in North Dakota by Métis people