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Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ |
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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 | 774,028 | 81.40% | 783,794 | 71.86% |
| Spanish | 57,801 | 6.08% | 110,746 | 10.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 78,806 | 8.29% | 114,617 | 10.51% |
| Asian Language** | 26,421 | 2.78% | 62,368 | 5.72% |
| Other | 13,792 | 1.45% | 19,235 | 1.76% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 950,848 | 100.00% | 1,090,760 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 55,592 | 50.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 37,172 | 32.43% |
| Asian Language** | 22,986 | 36.86% |
| Other Language | 5,649 | 29.37% |
| Total | 121,399 | 11.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 27,522 | 47.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 25,156 | 31.92% |
| Asian Language** | 11,705 | 44.30% |
| Other Language | 4,086 | 29.63% |
| Total | 68,469 | 7.20% |
* "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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