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Ann Arbor, MI |
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LANGUAGE
The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 423,043 | 92.82% | 490,499 | 90.64% |
| Spanish | 8,477 | 1.86% | 13,494 | 2.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 13,250 | 2.91% | 17,892 | 3.31% |
| Asian Language** | 8,281 | 1.82% | 14,147 | 2.61% |
| Other | 2,698 | 0.59% | 5,116 | 0.95% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 455,749 | 100.00% | 541,148 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,769 | 35.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,103 | 22.93% |
| Asian Language** | 6,516 | 46.06% |
| Other Language | 1,243 | 24.30% |
| Total | 16,631 | 3.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,574 | 30.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,966 | 22.38% |
| Asian Language** | 3,874 | 46.78% |
| Other Language | 635 | 23.54% |
| Total | 10,049 | 2.20% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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