Massachusetts
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 |
4,753,523 |
84.80% |
4,838,679 |
81.26% |
Spanish |
228,458 |
4.08% |
370,011 |
6.21% |
Other Indo-European* |
499,581 |
8.91% |
529,784 |
8.90% |
Asian Language** |
96,706 |
1.73% |
171,253 |
2.88% |
Other |
27,483 |
0.49% |
44,522 |
0.75% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
5,605,751 |
100.00% |
5,954,249 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
162,908 |
44.03% |
Other Indo-European* |
194,256 |
36.67% |
Asian Language** |
89,931 |
52.51% |
Other Language |
11,978 |
26.90% |
Total |
459,073 |
7.71% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
111,108 |
48.63% |
Other Indo-European* |
174,117 |
34.85% |
Asian Language** |
56,285 |
58.20% |
Other Language |
7,276 |
26.47% |
Total |
348,786 |
6.22% |
* "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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