Sangamon 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 |
159,982 |
96.57% |
170,568 |
96.39% |
Spanish |
1,451 |
0.88% |
2,200 |
1.24% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,365 |
2.03% |
2,485 |
1.40% |
Asian Language** |
583 |
0.35% |
1,295 |
0.73% |
Other |
281 |
0.17% |
405 |
0.23% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
165,662 |
100.00% |
176,953 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
760 |
34.55% |
Other Indo-European* |
569 |
22.90% |
Asian Language** |
462 |
35.68% |
Other Language |
58 |
14.32% |
Total |
1,849 |
1.04% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
393 |
27.08% |
Other Indo-European* |
963 |
28.62% |
Asian Language** |
272 |
46.66% |
Other Language |
113 |
40.21% |
Total |
1,741 |
1.05% |
* "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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