Rhode Island
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 |
776,931 |
82.97% |
788,560 |
80.04% |
Spanish |
35,492 |
3.79% |
79,443 |
8.06% |
Other Indo-European* |
107,878 |
11.52% |
91,449 |
9.28% |
Asian Language** |
12,756 |
1.36% |
19,926 |
2.02% |
Other |
3,366 |
0.36% |
5,806 |
0.59% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
936,423 |
100.00% |
985,184 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
40,403 |
50.86% |
Other Indo-European* |
31,517 |
34.46% |
Asian Language** |
9,991 |
50.14% |
Other Language |
1,713 |
29.50% |
Total |
83,624 |
8.49% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
19,789 |
55.76% |
Other Indo-European* |
38,031 |
35.25% |
Asian Language** |
7,182 |
56.30% |
Other Language |
925 |
27.48% |
Total |
65,927 |
7.04% |
* "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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