CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.
Alamance County |
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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 | 98,235 | 96.88% | 110,937 | 90.65% |
| Spanish | 1,572 | 1.55% | 8,894 | 7.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,403 | 1.38% | 1,538 | 1.26% |
| Asian Language** | 149 | 0.15% | 824 | 0.67% |
| Other | 37 | 0.04% | 185 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 101,396 | 100.00% | 122,378 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,143 | 69.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 502 | 32.64% |
| Asian Language** | 345 | 41.87% |
| Other Language | 71 | 38.38% |
| Total | 7,061 | 5.77% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 634 | 40.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 356 | 25.37% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 29.53% |
| Other Language | 5 | 13.51% |
| Total | 1,039 | 1.02% |
* "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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