Madison 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 |
224,115 |
96.88% |
234,608 |
96.70% |
Spanish |
2,024 |
0.87% |
3,676 |
1.52% |
Other Indo-European* |
4,253 |
1.84% |
3,434 |
1.42% |
Asian Language** |
681 |
0.29% |
701 |
0.29% |
Other |
262 |
0.11% |
192 |
0.08% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
231,335 |
100.00% |
242,611 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,252 |
34.06% |
Other Indo-European* |
933 |
27.17% |
Asian Language** |
273 |
38.94% |
Other Language |
24 |
12.50% |
Total |
2,482 |
1.02% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
554 |
27.37% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,056 |
24.83% |
Asian Language** |
273 |
40.09% |
Other Language |
107 |
40.84% |
Total |
1,990 |
0.86% |
* "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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