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 | 12,834,328 | 76.65% | 12,786,189 | 72.04% |
| Spanish | 1,848,825 | 11.04% | 2,416,126 | 13.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,446,881 | 8.64% | 1,654,540 | 9.32% |
| Asian Language** | 459,873 | 2.75% | 671,019 | 3.78% |
| Other | 153,141 | 0.91% | 221,236 | 1.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 16,743,048 | 100.00% | 17,749,110 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,182,068 | 48.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 663,874 | 40.12% |
| Asian Language** | 395,159 | 58.89% |
| Other Language | 69,155 | 31.26% |
| Total | 2,310,256 | 13.02% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 900,906 | 48.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 537,678 | 37.16% |
| Asian Language** | 278,017 | 60.46% |
| Other Language | 48,925 | 31.95% |
| Total | 1,765,526 | 10.54% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy