* The US Census doesn't specifically track language spoken. It asks about ancestry, but not primary language.
* Language use can vary significantly based on factors like age, region, and immigration history.
* There are different levels of fluency. Someone might claim to "speak Italian" but only know basic phrases.
However, we can look at some estimates:
* The Modern Language Association (MLA) estimates that around 1.5 million Americans speak Italian. This is based on self-reported data.
* The 2010 US Census found that 1.5% of Americans reported Italian ancestry. However, not all people with Italian ancestry speak Italian.
Based on these figures, a very rough estimate might be around 1% of the US population speaks Italian.
It's important to note that this is just an approximation. The actual number could be higher or lower depending on the criteria used.