Twentyseven individual states have adopted English as their official language， and three of those - Hawaii， Louisiana， and New Mexico - have also adopted a second official language (Hawaiian， French and Spanish， respectively). Spanish follows English as the secondmost spoken language in the United States， primarily due to the influence of recent Latin American immigrants， and it is a primary spoken language in some areas of the Southwest.
The primary signed language is American Sign Language (ASL).
As of 2004， the United States was the home of approximately 336 languages (spoken or signed)， of which 176 are indigenousindigenous adj.本土的 to U.S. territory.
Culture
U.S. culture has a large influence on the rest of the world， especially the Western world. This influence is sometimes criticized as cultural imperialism. U.S. music is heard all over the world， and it is the sire of such forms as blues and jazz and had a primary hand in the shaping of modern rock and roll and popular music culture. Many great Western classical musicians and ensemblesensemble n.〈法〉全体， ［音］合唱曲， 全体演出者 find their home in the U.S. New York City is a hub for international operatic and instrumental music as well as the worldfamed Broadway plays and musicals， Seattle is a world leader in the grunge and heavy metal music industries， and Nashville is the capital of country music. New York， Seattle， and San Francisco are worldwide leaders in graphic design， New York and Los Angeles compete with major European cities in the fashion industry.
U.S. movies (primarily embodied in Hollywood) and television shows can be seen almost anywhere. This is in stark contrast to the early days of the republic， when the country was viewed by Europeans as an agricultural backwater with little to offer the culturally “advanced” world centers of Asia and Europe. Nearing the midpoint of its third century of nationhood， the U.S. plays host to the gamut of human intellectual and artistic endeavor in nearly every major city， offering classical and popular music； historical， scientific and art research centers and museums； dance performances， musicals and plays； outdoor art projects and internationally significant architecture. This development is a result of both contributions by private philanthropistsphilanthropist n.慈善家 and government funding.
Sports
Some sports that originated or evolved in the United States， particularly basketball， American football， and baseball， which is often referred to as the Great American Pastime， have achieved a worldwide audience； the Super Bowl， the annual championshipchampionship n.锦标赛 game of the National Football League， is one of the highest watched broadcasts in the world， with viewership far outnumbering the total American population. Baseball is extremely popular in Latin American nations and Japan， and football has had some success in expanding to other areas， like NFL Europe. However， few “foreign” sports have caught on in America； attempts to create professional soccer (football) leagues have struggled， and cricket and rugby are not played on any professional level.
The United States hosts some of the premierpremier adj.第一的， 首要的 n.总理 events in other sports such as golf (including The Masters)， tennis (U.S. Open)， and auto racing (particularly the Indianapolis 500)， and hosted the World Cup in 1994.
Eight Olympic Games have been hosted in the U.S.A.， more than any other nation. The United States generally fares very well in the Olympics， especially the Summer Olympics： in 2004， the U.S.A. collected a record 103 Olympic medals (35 gold， 39 silver and 29 bronze).
All in all， America is a wonderful country， if you want to take a holiday， America is a good choice.
