Berrien 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 |
12,622 |
96.51% |
14,393 |
95.99% |
Spanish |
285 |
2.18% |
349 |
2.33% |
Other Indo-European* |
140 |
1.07% |
157 |
1.05% |
Asian Language** |
28 |
0.21% |
43 |
0.29% |
Other |
4 |
0.03% |
53 |
0.35% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
13,079 |
100.00% |
14,995 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
150 |
42.98% |
Other Indo-European* |
57 |
36.31% |
Asian Language** |
27 |
62.79% |
Other Language |
2 |
3.77% |
Total |
236 |
1.57% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
196 |
68.77% |
Other Indo-European* |
34 |
24.29% |
Asian Language** |
14 |
50.00% |
Other Language |
4 |
100.00% |
Total |
248 |
1.90% |
* "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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