From the Bench Language Access Plan E ffective communication. How important that is in our pursuit of justice under the law. Effective communication is key on every level, from interpretation of statutes, codes and court rules to understanding our clients' concerns, to delivering closing arguments in court. The art of effective communication becomes significantly complicated when a party to an action is deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speaks a language other than English. 24 | New Matter By Hon. Jacqueline Cody President Judge Pennsylvania is the 10th most linguistically diverse state in the nation. Statewide, 10.2% of Pennsylvania's 12 million residents speak a language other than English at home. More than 100 different languages are spoken throughout the Commonwealth. The top 10 non-English languages spoken in the Commonwealth are: 1. Spanish 2. Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese or other dialect) 3. Other West Germanic Languages (Dutch, Pennsylvania Dutch, Afrikaans and Frisian) 4. German 5. Italian 6. French 7. Vietnamese 8. Russian 9. Other Asian Languages 10. Korean