Telugu now 11th most-spoken foreign language in the US: Report

Telugu has become the 11th most spoken foreign language in the USA. It is the third most spoken Indian language in the US as well, behind Hindi and Gujarati.

Published on: Jun 27, 2024, 10:42:46 IST

By HT News Desk

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Telugu has become the 11th most-spoken foreign language in the USA, reported TOI, after a major growth in the community's population. It is the third most spoken Indian language in the US as well, behind Hindi and Gujarati.

Representative image: Telugu now 11th most spoken foreign language in the US, community grows larger (AP)

A statistical report based on US Census Bureau data shows that the Telugu-speaking population, from fourth-generation immigrants to new entrants like students, has gone from 3.2 lakh in 2016 to 12.3 lakh in 2024, which is almost a four-fold increase.

California hosts the largest Telugu-speaking population at 2 lakh, followed by Texas at 1.5 lakh and New Jersey at 1.1 lakh. The population has also increased in states like Illinois - 83,000, Georgia - 52,000, and Virginia, 78,000. Telugu community associations in the States also agree with these estimates.

A major reason for why Telugu is the 11th most spoken foreign language out of 350 languages, is the number of students arriving in the US. According to the TOI report, around 60-70,000 students and 10,000 H1b visa holders arrive every year.

Ashok Kolla, former Secretary of the Telugu Association of North America, told TOI, that 80 percent of new arrivals in the US are registered with his organization. He also said that around 75 percent end up settling in the US -in places like Dallas, the Bay Area, North Carolina, New Jersey, Atlanta, Florida, and Nashville.

The older generations consist mostly of entrepreneurs, while 80 percent of the younger population is involved in IT and finance.

According to the Indian Mobility Report of 2024, students from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh form the largest community of Indian students in the US. They are 12.5 percent of the entire student crowd.

At the Kent State University, new batches of students are handed welcome pamphlets with ‘Welcome Students’ written in Telugu, TOI reported.

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