Cook 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 |
11,987 |
96.53% |
13,871 |
95.52% |
Spanish |
270 |
2.17% |
484 |
3.33% |
Other Indo-European* |
145 |
1.17% |
74 |
0.51% |
Asian Language** |
10 |
0.08% |
53 |
0.36% |
Other |
6 |
0.05% |
40 |
0.28% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
12,418 |
100.00% |
14,522 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
253 |
52.27% |
Other Indo-European* |
36 |
48.65% |
Asian Language** |
31 |
58.49% |
Other Language |
27 |
67.50% |
Total |
347 |
2.39% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
214 |
79.26% |
Other Indo-European* |
58 |
40.00% |
Asian Language** |
3 |
30.00% |
Other Language |
0 |
- |
Total |
275 |
2.21% |
* "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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