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 |
21,376 |
97.48% |
22,026 |
96.98% |
Spanish |
158 |
0.72% |
141 |
0.62% |
Other Indo-European* |
262 |
1.19% |
342 |
1.51% |
Asian Language** |
132 |
0.60% |
201 |
0.88% |
Other |
0 |
0.00% |
2 |
0.01% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
21,928 |
100.00% |
22,712 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
31 |
21.99% |
Other Indo-European* |
36 |
10.53% |
Asian Language** |
109 |
54.23% |
Other Language |
0 |
0.00% |
Total |
176 |
0.77% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
52 |
32.91% |
Other Indo-European* |
54 |
20.61% |
Asian Language** |
69 |
52.27% |
Other Language |
0 |
- |
Total |
175 |
0.80% |
* "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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