Languages in Mexico

About the languages spoken in Mexico

The de facto official language in Mexico is Spanish, however Mexican Spanish has a great variety of dialects, accents and variations from one region to another, and changes in state by state.

The 2001 Law of Linguistic Rights declared 62 indigenous languages spoken in Mexico as "national languages" with the "same validity" in the territories where they are spoken. The indigenous language with the greatest number of speakers is Nahuatl with approximately 1.5% of the nation's population and Yucatec Maya (0.8%) primarily spoken in Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Yucatan Peninsula. Amerindian languages are written and heard in Mexico City and other major cities.

The second most spoken language in Mexico, is English which is used extensively at the border areas, coastal and inland tourist centers and large metropolitan areas. This phenomenon was arguably caused by the economic integration of North America under NAFTA as well as the immigration phenomenon and the return of workers and their families from the United States. In border cities, American TV and radio waves in English are received as much Spanish-speaking radio and TV stations from Mexico on the US side of the border. This has encouraged a bilingual cross-cultural exchange.

Among the languages brought by immigrants are the Venetian of Chipilo and Plattdeutsch, a German dialect that is spoken in Durango and Chihuahua. Other European languages spoken in Mexico are French, German and Russian.

Read about Mexico's ethnic diversity >