South Carolina
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 |
3,118,376 |
96.50% |
3,552,240 |
94.76% |
Spanish |
44,427 |
1.37% |
110,030 |
2.94% |
Other Indo-European* |
50,881 |
1.57% |
55,116 |
1.47% |
Asian Language** |
13,749 |
0.43% |
25,534 |
0.68% |
Other |
4,106 |
0.13% |
5,749 |
0.15% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
3,231,539 |
100.00% |
3,748,669 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
53,604 |
48.72% |
Other Indo-European* |
14,485 |
26.28% |
Asian Language** |
12,489 |
48.91% |
Other Language |
1,701 |
29.59% |
Total |
82,279 |
2.19% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
15,885 |
35.76% |
Other Indo-European* |
14,546 |
28.59% |
Asian Language** |
6,187 |
45.00% |
Other Language |
1,139 |
27.74% |
Total |
37,757 |
1.17% |
* "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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