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Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA |
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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 | 117,948 | 85.84% | 137,740 | 78.13% |
| Spanish | 15,785 | 11.49% | 31,801 | 18.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,867 | 1.36% | 4,065 | 2.31% |
| Asian Language** | 1,684 | 1.23% | 2,468 | 1.40% |
| Other | 122 | 0.09% | 232 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 137,406 | 100.00% | 176,306 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 16,935 | 53.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,419 | 34.91% |
| Asian Language** | 1,165 | 47.20% |
| Other Language | 79 | 34.05% |
| Total | 19,598 | 11.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,463 | 53.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 519 | 27.80% |
| Asian Language** | 1,001 | 59.44% |
| Other Language | 35 | 28.69% |
| Total | 10,018 | 7.29% |
* "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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