Rock Island 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 |
130,315 |
94.03% |
128,092 |
91.59% |
Spanish |
4,848 |
3.50% |
8,335 |
5.96% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,808 |
2.03% |
2,350 |
1.68% |
Asian Language** |
507 |
0.37% |
947 |
0.68% |
Other |
114 |
0.08% |
135 |
0.10% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
138,592 |
100.00% |
139,859 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,973 |
47.67% |
Other Indo-European* |
627 |
26.68% |
Asian Language** |
302 |
31.89% |
Other Language |
37 |
27.41% |
Total |
4,939 |
3.53% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,905 |
39.29% |
Other Indo-European* |
830 |
29.56% |
Asian Language** |
198 |
39.05% |
Other Language |
19 |
16.67% |
Total |
2,952 |
2.13% |
* "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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