Virginia
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 |
5,327,898 |
92.72% |
5,884,075 |
88.89% |
Spanish |
152,663 |
2.66% |
316,274 |
4.78% |
Other Indo-European* |
140,430 |
2.44% |
195,846 |
2.96% |
Asian Language** |
103,431 |
1.80% |
170,136 |
2.57% |
Other |
21,997 |
0.38% |
52,935 |
0.80% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
5,746,419 |
100.00% |
6,619,266 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
151,938 |
48.04% |
Other Indo-European* |
53,125 |
27.13% |
Asian Language** |
82,167 |
48.29% |
Other Language |
16,499 |
31.17% |
Total |
303,729 |
4.59% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
66,625 |
43.64% |
Other Indo-European* |
37,116 |
26.43% |
Asian Language** |
51,189 |
49.49% |
Other Language |
6,299 |
28.64% |
Total |
161,229 |
2.81% |
* "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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