Languages of North America

North America is the third largest continent in the world. There are 23 countries in North America. The languages people speak the most in North America - which includes Central America and the Caribbean - are English, Spanish, and in some places French and creole languages.

There are lots of languages which are spoken by indigenous peoples - in the Arctic these include Eskimo-Aleut languages, such the Aleut language, which are spoken in the Aleutian Islands; the Yupik languages, which are spoken in Alaska; and Inuit languages, which are spoken by people in places including Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Greenland.

A group of languages which are called Na-Dené languages are spoken in Alaska and north-west Canada. Southern Athabaskan languages are spoken in the South-western United States. Algic languages, which include Algonquian languages, are spoken by a lot of people in Canada and the United States. Some of these are Ojibwe, Cree, Miꞌkmaq, and Blackfoot.

A group of languages called the Iriquoian languages are spoken by a lot of people who live near the Saint Lawrence River and the eastern Great Lakes. These include Cherokee.

A group of languages called the Uto-Aztecan languages are spoken by people in the Western United States, in northern and central Mexico, and El Salvador. Some of these are Hopi, Oʼodham, and Nahuatl.

A group of languages called the Mayan languages are spoken by people in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.

A group of languages called the Mixe–Zoque languages are spoken by people in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico.

In the Caribbean a lot of people used to speak Arawakan languages. Some of these are the Ta-Arawakan languages, which are spoken in Central and Southern America. These are still spoken by a lot of people in South America.