DeSoto 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 |
19,894 |
89.24% |
23,008 |
75.86% |
Spanish |
1,955 |
8.77% |
6,693 |
22.07% |
Other Indo-European* |
267 |
1.20% |
511 |
1.68% |
Asian Language** |
139 |
0.62% |
60 |
0.20% |
Other |
37 |
0.17% |
59 |
0.19% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
22,292 |
100.00% |
30,331 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
4,511 |
67.40% |
Other Indo-European* |
173 |
33.86% |
Asian Language** |
16 |
26.67% |
Other Language |
19 |
32.20% |
Total |
4,719 |
15.56% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
956 |
48.90% |
Other Indo-European* |
92 |
34.46% |
Asian Language** |
44 |
31.65% |
Other Language |
29 |
78.38% |
Total |
1,121 |
5.03% |
* "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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