Delaware
Languages
English in Delaware is basically North Midland, with Philadelphia features in Wilmington and the northern portion. In the north, one wants off a bus, lowers curtains rather than blinds, pronounces wharf without /h/, and says /noo/ and /doo/ for new and due and / krik/ for creek . In 2000, 662,845 Delawareans—90.5% of the resident population five years of age or older—spoke only English at home.
The following table gives selected statistics from the 2000 census for language spoken at home by persons five years old and over. The category "African languages" includes Amharic, Ibo, Twi, Yoruba, Bantu, Swahili, and Somali. The category "Other Asian languages" includes Dravidian languages, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Turkish. The category "Other West Germanic languages" includes Dutch, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Afrikaans.
| LANGUAGE | NUMBER | PERCENT |
| Population 5 years and over | 732,378 | 100.0 |
| Speak only English | 662,845 | 90.5 |
| Speak a language other than English | 69,533 | 9.5 |
| Speak a language other than English | 69,533 | 9.5 |
| Spanish or Spanish Creole | 34,690 | 4.7 |
| French (incl. Patois, Cajun) | 4,041 | 0.6 |
| Chinese | 3,579 | 0.5 |
| German | 3,420 | 0.5 |
| Italian | 2,860 | 0.4 |
| Polish | 2,036 | 0.3 |
| Korean | 1,598 | 0.2 |
| African languages | 1,289 | 0.2 |
| Tagalog | 1,284 | 0.2 |
| Other Asian languages | 1,280 | 0.2 |
| Other West Germanic languages | 1,245 | 0.2 |
| French Creole | 1,199 | 0.2 |
| Other Indic languages | 1,186 | 0.2 |