Languages of the Kingdom of Sierra
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There are nine official languages of the Kingdom of Sierra: English, Spanish, French, Tondolese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and German. Of the nine, English is the primary language used in governmental and parliamentary discourse, though all languages share equal legal status. There are also several languages which are official at the national or provincial level, including Hawaiian, Gilbertese, Arabic, Armenian, Dutch, and Russian. The Kingdom of Sierra is also home to dozens of indigenous languages, of which the most widely spoken is Navajo (also official in Apache and Flagstaff). More than 300 other languages from around the world are also represented and spoken in the Kingdom of Sierra, reflecting the country's diversity as a nation of mainly immigrants and their descendants.
The majority of Sierrans are at least bilingual and speak English. Language education is mandatory in K-12 education and multilingualism is promoted as an important Sierran value. The most widely spoken primary or secondary language other than English is Spanish. The Kingdom is also home to several creole and sign languages.
Official languages
The Kingdom of Sierra recognizes nine official languages at the Kingdom-level: Sierran English, Spanish, French, Tondolese, Chinese (both the Mandarin and Cantonese varieties), Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and German, which are constitutionally recognized as the languages of the Kingdom's largest linguistic communities. Of the nine languages, English is the primary working language used for legislation, parliamentary discourse, regulations, court rulings, treaties, proclamations, and royal edicts. Translations in the eight other languages are required in all federal government documents. Federal regulations have additional rules, exceptions, and conditions in implementing the Kingdom's official language policy. Although the federal government is required to publish government documents with all nine official languages, it is permitted to include additional languages.
Up until 1950, no official language was adopted by the Kingdom of Sierra. After the passage of the Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra, English and Spanish were adopted as official languages. In 1956, French, Tondolese, and Chinese were added due to public pressure for greater representation of the Kingdom's major communities. In 1975, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese were added. In 1981, German was added which remains the most recent addition. Since the adoption of German, there has been pushback and resistance towards the addition of more official languages such as Dutch (spoken in Plumas and Shasta). Criticism is often focused on the potential costs, inconvenience, and impracticality of mandating the availability or translation of official languages for government documents or signage. Other criticism has been pointed towards the lack of inclusion of other widely spoken languages or endangered indigenous languages. The English-only movement, which first gained prominence during the 1990s, also promotes the simplification of Sierra's official language policy by making English the only or the preeminent official language at the federal or provincial level. Proponents of expanding or protecting Sierra's official languages have argued that accessibility and acknowledgement are important for Sierra's various minority and immigrant groups.
Each country and PSA may establish their own official languages which reflect the demographics of the PSA. The majority of PSAs have official languages and of these PSAs, English is an official language in every one of them. Spanish is the next most common official language. A number of PSAs recognize official languages that do not have official status at the Kingdom-level such as the province of Gold Coast (which recognizes Armenian and Arabic) or the province of Apache (which recognizes Navajo). The country of Hawaii recognizes Hawaiian as one of its official languages. The country of the Deseret presents a special case in that it has no official language other than English itself but nonetheless recognizes the Deseret alphabet, an English constructed script intended to be a phonemic alternative to the Latin alphabet.
Place | English official | Other official language(s) | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Apache | Yes | None | since 1972 |
Cancún | Yes | Spanish, Yucatec Maya | since 2021 |
Central Valley | Yes | None | since 2004 |
Channel Islands | Yes | French | since 2021 |
Clark | No | None | |
Cornerstone | Yes | Spanish | since 2002 |
East Leewards | Yes | Hawaiian | since 1980 |
Emery | Yes | None | since 1984 |
Eureka | No | None | |
Flagstaff | Yes | Spanish, Navajo, Hopi | |
Gold Coast | Yes | Spanish, French, Tondolese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, German, Arabic, Armenian | since 1989; also publishes government documents in Hindi, Farsi, Punjabi, Telugu, Amharic, and Russian. |
Hawaii (state) | Yes | Hawaiian | since 1982 |
Honolulu | Yes | Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Tondolese, Portuguese | since 1979 |
Imperial | Yes | Spanish | since 2000 |
Inland Empire | Yes | Spanish, Tondolese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean | since 1998 |
Iron | Yes | None | since 1983 |
Juab | No | None | |
Kamehameha | Yes | Hawaiian | since 1980 |
Kauai | Yes | Hawaiian | since 1981 |
Kings | Yes | Spanish, French, Danish, Polish, Russian | since 1996 |
Laguna | Yes | Spanish, French | since 1993 |
Maricopa | Yes | Spanish | since 2008 |
Maui | Yes | Hawaiian, Japanese | since 2002 |
Mérida | Yes | Spanish | since 2021; Spanish is the primary working language |
Morganland | No | None | |
Mohave | Yes | Spanish | since 2010 |
New Oneida | No | None | |
Oahu | Yes | Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Tondolese, Chinese | since 1980 |
Orange | Yes | Spanish, German, French, Vietnamese, Korean, Tondolese | since 1999 |
Plumas | Yes | Dutch, German, Russian | since 1994 |
Pacífico Norte | Yes | Spanish | since 2021; Spanish is the primary working language |
Pacífico Sur | Yes | Spanish | since 2021; Spanish is the primary working language |
Reno | No | None | |
San Francisco | Yes | Spanish, Chinese, Tondolese, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese | since 2006; also publishes government documents in Hindi and Arabic |
San Joaquin | Yes | None | since 2004; also publishes government documents in Spanish, Russian, Dutch, German, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tondolese, and Korean |
Santa Clara | Yes | Spanish, Chinese, Tondolese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese | since 1991; also publishes government documents in Hindi, Arabic, Telugu, Punjabi, and Basque |
Shasta | Yes | German, Dutch, Russian, Spanish | since 2002 |
Sonora | Yes | Spanish | since 2003 |
South Sonora | Yes | Spanish | since 2021; Spanish is the primary working language |
Sweetwater | No | None | |
Tahoe | Yes | Spanish, Russian | since 1980 |
Wasatch | Yes | None | since 1975 |
Washumko | Yes | None | since 2007 |
West Leewards | Yes | Hawaiian | since 1980 |
Zion | No | None | |
Bénieîle | Yes | Bislama, French | since 2004 |
Camp Maiden | Yes | Tondolese | since 2002 |
Gilbert and Ellice Islands | Yes | Gilbertese | since 2002 |
Isles of Pines | Yes | Spanish | since 1988 |
Pacific Crown Islands | No | None | |
Rapa Nui | Yes | Rapa Nui | since 2009 |
Saint Andrews, Providence, and the Corn Islands | Yes | None | since 2003 |
Sierran Antarctic Territory | Yes | Spanish, French, Norwegian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese | since 2005 |
Sierran Samoa | Yes | Samoan | since 1995 |
West Colorado | No | None | |
West New Mexico | Yes | Spanish, Navajo | since 2000 |
Indigenous languages
Amerindian
The Kingdom of Sierra is home to dozens of Native American or Amerindian languages, as well as the indigenous languages of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, with several language families represented. The majority of indigenous languages in the Kingdom of Sierra are endangered, with some languages having less than a thousand speakers. More than 50 documented languages have become extinct since European arrival and colonization. Although there are a number of languages considered extinct (having no native speakers), some have been the subject of language revitalization efforts to preserve and restore the languages. There are also a few languages which have endured and preserved in thriving linguistic communities such as Navajo and Hawaiian.
The Kingdom of Sierra has one of the world's most diverse linguistic makeup in terms of indigenous languages. The largest language family native to the Kingdom of Sierra is Uto-Aztecan, which includes Navajo and Hopi, as well as Nahuan in Mexico.
- Main article: Navajo language
The largest and most widely-spoken indigenous language in the Kingdom of Sierra is Navajo. The language is an Athabaskan member of the Na-Dené family. It has over 250,000 speakers and is widely spoken in the Sierran provinces of Apache and northern Flagstaff, the Deseretian areas of Iron and Zion, and the territory of West New Mexico. It is an official language in both Apache and Flagstaff, making it one of the only Amerindian languages to enjoy this distinction and legal status.
Decades of rigorous language education and immersion programs have helped preserve the Navajo language among its speakers. It is commonly taught as a foreign language in several PSAs to non-Navajo learners. The language is closely related to other Athabaskan languages, including Western Apache, although the languages are not mutually intelligible.
Austronesian
Gilbertese
Gilbertese is an official language of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. The Austronesian language is part of the Micronesian branch of Oceanic languages and is spoken by 120,000 people. The majority of Gilbertese people are bilingual and most government services operate in both Gilbertese and English.
Hawaiian
Hawaiian is an official language of the constituent country of Hawaii and each of its eight states. Hawaiian is considered an endangered language (having previously been considered critically endangered) with less than 30,000 native speakers. Language revivalist efforts have been sponsored by the Government of Hawaii to promote and reclaim native Hawaiian identity on the islands. Various Hawaiian place names have retained or reverted to their native Hawaiian name. The Hawaiian language is closely related to the Māori language and the Tahitian language.
Rapa Nui
Rapa Nui (also known as Pascuan) is an official language of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). With approximately 1,000 native speakers, the language is considered endangered and is isolated within the Eastern Polynesian languages. The majority of its speakers learn the language as adults, as English is the primary language spoken in Rapa Nui. The ancient, undeciphered script of Rongorongo is widely believed to have been used to transcribe and write the Rapa Nui language. In modern Rapa Nui, the Latin alphabet is used to represent Rapa Nui words.
Samoan
Samoan is an official language of Sierran Samoa. It has over 250,000 speakers, making it the most widely spoken indigenous language of the Kingdom of Sierra outside of North America, on par with the Navajo language, although Sierran Samoa itself only has a population of about 55,000 (the rest of the Samoan-speaking community lives in the independent country of Samoa or elsewhere in Oceania).
African, Asian, and European languages
Amharic
The Amharic language is a major language spoken in Ethiopia. It is widely spoken among the Ethiopian-Sierran community although other minority languages are also spoken including Afar, Oromo, and Tigrinya. The City and County of Porciúncula is home to the majority of Ethiopian speakers in the Kingdom of Sierra, especially in the Little Ethiopia neighborhood in Central Porciúncula. There are also significant Ethiopian communities in San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern Clark (Las Vegas Valley).
Arabic
Varieties of Arabic are spoken by Middle Eastern immigrants (mainly those of Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, and Palestinian descent) and Muslim Sierrans. The highest concentration of Arabic speakers live in Porciúncula metropolitan area and the San Diego–Tijuana–Salsipuedes metropolitan area. Arabic is an official language in the Sierran province of the Gold Coast and the Bajarian state of Pacífico Norte.
In 2022, it was the fastest growing language in the Kingdom of Sierra due to immigration. Arabic is also one of the most popular foreign languages taught and studied in the Sierran education system. The language is important for religious purposes for Sierran Muslims as well as Sierran Arab Christians (notably Catholics of the Melkites and the Maronites, as well as the Oriental Orthodox such as the Copts).
Armenian
Armenian is spoken in high concentrations in Porciúncula metropolitan area, especially in the city of Glendale and the Porciúncula neighborhood of Little Armenia, which are both home to the world's largest Armenian communities outside of Armenia. There is also significant presence of the Armenian-speaking community in San Fernando Valley. Armenian is one of official languages of the Gold Coast. Both standardized forms of Armenian: Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian, are spoken among Armenian Sierrans.
In 2010, the majority of Armenian speakers surveyed were foreign-born. Of the foreign-born speakers, more than half were also bilingual in English. Fluency in the Armenian language among second-generation Armenian Sierrans is around just 50%. Parochial schools operated by the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian Catholic Church educate and instruct its students exclusively or primarily in Armenian. There are also afterschool Armenian language programs sponsored by Sierran public schools which are catered to the Armenian youth.
Basque
The Basque language has had a presence in the Kingdom of Sierra since the early 19th century. Basque farmers and ranchers worked at Spanish and Mexican ranchos prior to the Mexican–American War and were involved at every level of government during the California Republic. The formation of Basque clubs in the early 20th century helped unify and consolidate the Basque identity within the country. Basques who arrived prior to Great War I were mainly Spanish Basque Country or French Basque Country. Following the war, a number of Basque speakers from Placentia began emigrating to the Kingdom, introducing the Placentian dialect of Basque to the country. The majority of Basque Sierrans today live in the Styxie (especially in Santa Clara and Central Valley), as well as Kings. Saint Andrews, Santa Clara is home to the oldest and largest community of Basque Sierrans. Other Basque communities exist in Porciúncula, Fort Travis, San Francisco City, and San Diego.
Bengali
Bengali Sierrans reside primarily in the heavily urbanized regions of Porciúncula and San Francisco City. In 2020, the K.S. Royal Bureau of Census indicated that there were nearly 250,000 Bengalis living in the Kingdom of Sierra. Bengali Sierrans include those from the region of Bengal and West Bengal. The majority of Bengali immigrants in the 21st-century are well-educated, professional-class migrants who are at least bilingual in Bengali and English. Bengali is one of the languages officially translated into for government documents in several K.S. counties where Bengali is spoken at significant numbers such as Porciúncula County.
Berber
Varieties of Berber are spoken by Berber Sierrans, of which Shilha and Central Atlas Tamazight are the most widely spoken. The majority of Berber Sierrans live in areas where Arabic is also widely spoken in the Kingdom, such as the San Diego–Tijuana–Salsipuedes metropolitan area. Among Berber Sierrans, the majority do not speak any of the Berber languages fluently, as English, Arabic, and Spanish takes prominence. In Salsipuedes, the Institute of Berber Language Studies is one of the world's only institutions dedicated to preserving and maintaining knowledge in the seven major Berber languages and smaller minority languages.
Chinese
The Chinese languages have had an established presence in the Kingdom of Sierra since the 19th century when Chinese prospectors arrived during the California Gold Rush. Historically, Cantonese and other varieties of Yue Chinese such as Taishanese were the dominant forms of the Chinese language. The significant influence and impact of Chinese Sierrans leading up to and during the Sierran Cultural Revolution allowed the Chinese language to flourish. Chinese was the first non-European language to enjoy status as an official language and was also the inspiration behind the now largely abandoned system of Sierran Hanzi. The Chinese language is one of the official languages of the Kingdom of Sierra and several PSAs. At the federal level, Chinese is officially undistinguished but informally includes Mandarin and Cantonese as the primary forms of expression recognized by the Kingdom. San Francisco City is home to Sierra's oldest Chinatown and is an important cultural center for the Chinese Sierran community. Other areas with significant Chinese-speaking populations include the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Porciúncula area (particularly in the San Gabriel Valley), and Las Vegas Valley.
Since the 21st century, Mandarin has become the dominant form of Chinese spoken among Chinese Sierrans, supplanting Cantonese as the lingua franca among the Chinese Sierran community. Other varieties of Chinese such as Hokkien and Taiwanese Hokkien have also developed significant communities.
Danish
Danish Sierrans have had roots in the Kingdom of Sierra since the Spanish colonial period. A significant number of Danes arrived to the Deseret during the 1850s as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Danish Mormons later spread across the Deseret and into other parts of Sierra, bringing along with them their language and culture. Subsequent Danish immigration was mainly fueled by economic reasons and the majority of Danes who arrived came as families. Compared to other Scandinavian Sierrans, Danes were among the earliest European groups to fully assimilate into the Anglo-American culture of the early Kingdom. Today, the Danish language is only spoken by less than an eighth of Danish Sierrans. Southern Kings, centered at the city of Solvang (known as the "Danish Capital of the Americas"), is a notable exception to this and is home to a large community of Danish speakers. The region has sometimes been called "Dane Country" or the "Danish Belt". For this reason, Danish was made an official language of Kings in 2010.
Dutch
Dutch has had a presence in the Kingdom of Sierra since the mid-17th century when the colony of New Holland was founded by Dutch navigator Hendrik Brouwer in modern-day Plumas. New Holland included the settlement of New Rotterdam. The Dutch colony grew in size while it remained outside the northernmost reaches of Spanish control over the Californias. After the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain acquired full control over New Holland but allowed the Dutch colonists to retain their language and culture. The variety of Dutch spoken in Plumas, known as Plumasonian Dutch, shares more in common with the 16th-century Dutch spoken in the Spanish Netherlands than it does with Modern Standard Dutch. It has retained the more conservative elements of the language and shares similarities with Flemish. Nonetheless, Plumasonian Dutch is not standardized and there exists a continuum of full intelligibility between the two registers.
The New Hollanders played an instrumental role in the Mexican–American War, with some taking the side with the Anglo-Americans and some taking the side with the Mexicans. New Hollanders and Dutch participated in the government of the California Republic and were also involved in the formation of the Kingdom of Sierra. The Dutch language remains widely spoken in parts of Plumas (where it is an official language), as well as the neighboring provinces of Shasta, Tahoe, and San Francisco. Due to the historical importance and continued prevalence of the Dutch language, there have been proposals to designate Dutch as one of the official languages of the Kingdom of Sierra.
English
English was inherited from Anglo-American settlement in the Californias and is the most widely spoken language in the Kingdom of Sierra. It is one of the Kingdom's official languages and is the de facto working language of the Sierran government, public services, legal system, business, and education. More than three-fourths of Sierrans identify English as their first language and over 80% of Sierran residents aged 5 and above stated that they spoke English "well" or "very well" in the 2020 Sierran census.
Sierran English is similar to other varieties of American English and is different from British English in terms of spelling, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and slang user. Of the American English varieties spoken, Sierran English shares the most commonalities with Astorian English. However, the differences between Sierran English and British English (as well as the other varieties of English spoken in the Commonwealth realms) is not significant enough to pose linguistic barriers between speakers. Sierran English itself features a number of varying dialects such as Styxie English.
Farsi
Farsi, also known as Persian, is spoken among Iranian Sierrans and mainly concentrated in the Southwest Corridor and the San Francisco Bay Area. Compared to their Middle Eastern cohorts, Iranian Sierrans in general are less literate and fluent in their mother language, and is thus more limited to older Iranian Sierrans or recent immigrants. Among second-generation or third-generation Iranian Sierrans, fluency in Farsi is less than 15%. Reasons for such phenomena has been attributed to high rates of intermarriage with non-Farsi-speaking people and a higher degree of assimilation into mainstream Sierran culture.
Finnish
Finnish Sierrans have historically immigrated to the Pacific Northwest region of the Kingdom of Sierra, particularly in Western Plumas and Tahoe. A significant number of Finns initially settled in Superior before emigrating to the Kingdom during the late 19th and early 20th century due to greater economic opportunities. Both Finns from the Finnish mainland and Finnish-Superians retained a strong cultural identity in the New World, and numerous settlements were founded with Finnish names. The cultural capital of Finnish-Sierrans today is New Hanko, Plumas.
French
The French language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the Kingdom of Sierra and is an official language at the federal level. French is the most commonly spoken language in the Channel Islands and Bénieîle, as well as the Sierran region of Saintiana (the southeastern Gold Coast, western Orange, and northwestern Laguna). French was introduced into the region during the 17th century after Louis Antoine de Bougainville explored and established a colony in the Channel Islands. Channelier French, the variety of French spoken in the Channel Islands, differs considerably from Metropolitan French in terms of vocabulary and some grammar. Sierran Creole is the creole language spoken by the Sierran Creole people and is derived from French.
The largest French-speaking communities live in the Channel Islands, Grands Ballons, St. Anne, and Porciúncula. Although nearly ten percent of Sierrans have French ancestry, less than a quarter of French Sierrans speak French natively or fluently. The Channel Islands, the Gold Coast, and Laguna are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Gaelic
The Gaelic languages, which includes both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, are spoken by a minority of the Sierran Jacobites, an ethnolinguistic group residing primarily in the Styxie. Scottish Gaelic phrases are evident in the arms and mottoes associated with the Sierran royal family due to their close connection with the Jacobite community and their descendance from the royal Scottish House of Stuart. Sierran Gaelic refers to the dialects and varieties of Scottish Gaelic spoken in the Kingdom of Sierra.
Georgian
German
Greek
Gujarati
Hindi and Urdu
Hmong
Italian
Korean
Kurdish
Japanese
Khmer
Makassan
Marathi
Malay
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Russian
Spanish
The Spanish language was introduced into the region of Sierra during the colonization of the Americas by the Spanish Empire. By the 1500s, the Spanish had colonized the majority of South America and advanced upward where they would colonize the territories that make up the modern-day Kingdom of Sierra along with neighboring Brazoria and Superior. As a result of being colonized by Spain and being part of the overseas colonial kingdom of New Spain, Spanish was introduced and widely spoken in the region. Spanish remained commonly spoken even after White American settlers traveled outwits to Alta California and remained an official language of the California Republic as many Spanish-speaking people traveled to California during the gold rush and settled down in the country, further cementing Spanish as a major language and would be recognized as an official language by King Charles I upon his ascension as King and the establishment of the Kingdom of Sierra in 1858.
Today Spanish is the second most spoken language across the country, behind only English. Over 20 million residents speak Spanish at home with the majority of Sierrans having knowledge of Spanish and is a second language to most of the country. Within the present day Kingdom of Sierra, Spanish is an official language and is most spoken in the southernmost parts of the country, mainly in the Southwest Corridor, West New Mexico, and the country of Bajaría where Spanish is the official and most spoken language in the latter while Spanish is the as commonly spoken as English is in West New Mexico. Spanish is the most commonly spoken among Hispanic and Latino and Spanish Sierrans.
Swahili
Swedish
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Tondolese
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Yiddish
Yiddish is commonly spoken among the Hasidic Jewish communities in the Kingdom of Sierra as well as some Sierran Jews who have Ashkenazi origins or descent. The Yiddish community is mainly found in Porciúncula and are highly concentrated in the neighborhood of Hancock Park as well as San Fernando Valley where Orthodox Judaism is prominently practiced. There are also sizable communities of Yiddish speakers in other cities in the Kingdom such as Salsipuedes and San Francisco City. Jews descended from other regions as well as secular Jews are less likely to speak Yiddish.
Creole-based languages
Bislama
Sierran Creole
Official multilingualism
Speakers by mother tongue
The K.S. Royal Bureau of Census, in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, regularly publishes information about the most common languages spoken at home, which it defines as "mother tongue".
The following mother tongues are listed by speakers aged 5 or older who speak the following as their primary language at home:
- English – 30.2 million
- Spanish – 24.7 million
- Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, and other varieties) – 6.2 million
- Tondolese – 5.5 million
- Vietnamese – 4.9 million
- French – 4.7 million
- Korean – 3.2 million
- Japanese – 3.0 million
- German – 2.7 million
- Arabic – 2.2 million
- Russian – 1.8 million
- Dutch – 1.2 million
- Hindi – 1.0 million
- Punjabi – 0.93 million
- Italian – 0.88 million
- Gujarati – 0.75 million
- Greek – 0.72 million
- Telugu – 0.72 million
- Polish – 0.70 million
- Farsi – 0.68 million
- Thai – 0.65 million
- Romanian – 0.65 million
- Sierran Creole – 0.62 million
- Basque – 0.61 million
- Swahili – 0.59 million
- Norwegian – 0.46 million
- Portuguese – 0.44 million
- Swedish – 0.32 million
- Khmer – 0.32 million