Howard 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 |
158,161 |
91.77% |
197,631 |
86.00% |
Spanish |
2,959 |
1.72% |
7,373 |
3.21% |
Other Indo-European* |
6,189 |
3.59% |
10,880 |
4.73% |
Asian Language** |
4,441 |
2.58% |
11,309 |
4.92% |
Other |
599 |
0.35% |
2,604 |
1.13% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
172,349 |
100.00% |
229,797 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,757 |
37.39% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,698 |
24.80% |
Asian Language** |
5,207 |
46.04% |
Other Language |
401 |
15.40% |
Total |
11,063 |
4.81% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
882 |
29.81% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,352 |
21.85% |
Asian Language** |
2,170 |
48.86% |
Other Language |
106 |
17.70% |
Total |
4,510 |
2.62% |
* "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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