Wicomico 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 |
66,593 |
96.31% |
74,842 |
94.21% |
Spanish |
913 |
1.32% |
1,729 |
2.18% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,050 |
1.52% |
1,612 |
2.03% |
Asian Language** |
457 |
0.66% |
1,105 |
1.39% |
Other |
129 |
0.19% |
156 |
0.20% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
69,142 |
100.00% |
79,444 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
971 |
56.16% |
Other Indo-European* |
565 |
35.05% |
Asian Language** |
747 |
67.60% |
Other Language |
41 |
26.28% |
Total |
2,324 |
2.93% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
327 |
35.82% |
Other Indo-European* |
287 |
27.33% |
Asian Language** |
265 |
57.99% |
Other Language |
45 |
34.88% |
Total |
924 |
1.34% |
* "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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