Decatur 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 |
23,019 |
97.58% |
24,809 |
95.27% |
Spanish |
318 |
1.35% |
1,007 |
3.87% |
Other Indo-European* |
201 |
0.85% |
169 |
0.65% |
Asian Language** |
44 |
0.19% |
28 |
0.11% |
Other |
8 |
0.03% |
29 |
0.11% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
23,590 |
100.00% |
26,042 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
480 |
47.67% |
Other Indo-European* |
105 |
62.13% |
Asian Language** |
22 |
78.57% |
Other Language |
8 |
27.59% |
Total |
615 |
2.36% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
238 |
74.84% |
Other Indo-European* |
106 |
52.74% |
Asian Language** |
20 |
45.45% |
Other Language |
8 |
100.00% |
Total |
372 |
1.58% |
* "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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