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Topeka, KS

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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 142,710 95.59% 148,702 93.95%
Spanish 3,732 2.50% 6,568 4.15%
Other Indo-European* 1,876 1.26% 1,753 1.11%
Asian Language** 777 0.52% 937 0.59%
Other 198 0.13% 321 0.20%
Total Population Age 5+ 149,293 100.00% 158,281 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 2,781 42.34%
Other Indo-European* 515 29.38%
Asian Language** 383 40.88%
Other Language 62 19.31%
Total 3,741 2.36%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 1,270 34.03%
Other Indo-European* 395 21.06%
Asian Language** 319 41.06%
Other Language 33 16.67%
Total 2,017 1.35%

* "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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