Illinois
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 |
9,086,726 |
85.84% |
9,326,786 |
80.77% |
Spanish |
728,380 |
6.88% |
1,253,676 |
10.86% |
Other Indo-European* |
552,968 |
5.22% |
640,237 |
5.54% |
Asian Language** |
166,773 |
1.58% |
248,800 |
2.15% |
Other |
50,991 |
0.48% |
78,006 |
0.68% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
10,585,838 |
100.00% |
11,547,505 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
665,995 |
53.12% |
Other Indo-European* |
253,352 |
39.57% |
Asian Language** |
111,065 |
44.64% |
Other Language |
24,310 |
31.16% |
Total |
1,054,722 |
9.13% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
366,999 |
50.39% |
Other Indo-European* |
194,218 |
35.12% |
Asian Language** |
80,425 |
48.22% |
Other Language |
16,341 |
32.05% |
Total |
657,983 |
6.22% |
* "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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