Southern Florida and Key West are full of diversity and culture. This is represented through the museums that are in place, with their history of it all, as well as the streets and the people that walk them.
There are not just tourists that occupy the cities here, though that adds to the diversity, as well. There is diversity all around that has been there for years. Throughout Florida, from Miami to Key West, there are many languages that are spoken, as well, which only add to the culture of the state and the islands. They are mainly English and other European languages, but the varying differences between them is great. This adds spice to the land and culture to the streets.
In Miami alone there are two major languages, three languages that account for close to 1% each, and five other languages that are witnessed in smaller amounts. Miami is sometimes referred to as the “Capital of Latin America” due to the number of Spanish speaking citizens that live there.
With Spanish and English being the two most common languages in the city, many tourists in their Key West vacations can find a home among the crowd there and pick up a conversation with almost anyone. The other languages that are seen there are Haitian Creole, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, and Greek.
There are so many languages scattered in this one city that it is hard to imagine that one could encounter more as they travel with the Miami to Key West tour.
Traveling to Key West heading further south, to Marathon, only English and Spanish make up the languages spoken. All of the others fall away and this is the focus on this island. The same goes for the Bahia Honda Key, which is named in Spanish and means “Deep Bay.” These upper and middle Keys hold onto these languages closely.
That is not to say that there is definitely no one else that speaks another language on the island, it is just harder to come by than someone that speaks English and/or Spanish. Continuing on the road to Key West from Miami, languages begin to return and become more than just English and Spanish as the main languages. French, Italian, and German make up the remaining languages, the same as some spoken in Miami.
The English and Spanish speaking population is high due to the location of Florida and the Keys. Between America and Mexico, off the coast, the residents of Florida and the Keys have this bilingual nature that has created their background and the amount of diversity within the state and islands.
These languages create diversity and, with them, bring a vast array of cultures that are incorporated into southern Florida very well. They attract many to their state and the Keys and are continuously added to. This increases the amount of tourist in Key West and the residential population because almost anyone can find a home somewhere down here and a friendly face with the knowledge of the language you use and want to share.
