Sumter County
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 |
28,380 |
95.45% |
46,576 |
90.93% |
Spanish |
795 |
2.67% |
3,399 |
6.64% |
Other Indo-European* |
473 |
1.59% |
941 |
1.84% |
Asian Language** |
62 |
0.21% |
199 |
0.39% |
Other |
23 |
0.08% |
107 |
0.21% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
29,733 |
100.00% |
51,222 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,409 |
41.45% |
Other Indo-European* |
225 |
23.91% |
Asian Language** |
107 |
53.77% |
Other Language |
65 |
60.75% |
Total |
1,806 |
3.53% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
332 |
41.76% |
Other Indo-European* |
165 |
34.88% |
Asian Language** |
44 |
70.97% |
Other Language |
13 |
56.52% |
Total |
554 |
1.86% |
* "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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