Chatham 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 |
190,379 |
95.22% |
202,148 |
93.33% |
Spanish |
3,578 |
1.79% |
6,533 |
3.02% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,920 |
1.96% |
4,207 |
1.94% |
Asian Language** |
1,686 |
0.84% |
2,923 |
1.35% |
Other |
364 |
0.18% |
789 |
0.36% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
199,927 |
100.00% |
216,600 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,611 |
39.97% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,158 |
27.53% |
Asian Language** |
1,767 |
60.45% |
Other Language |
137 |
17.36% |
Total |
5,673 |
2.62% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,150 |
32.14% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,078 |
27.50% |
Asian Language** |
803 |
47.63% |
Other Language |
44 |
12.09% |
Total |
3,075 |
1.54% |
* "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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