Hampden 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 |
343,245 |
81.21% |
331,641 |
77.75% |
Spanish |
36,320 |
8.59% |
55,218 |
12.95% |
Other Indo-European* |
39,509 |
9.35% |
33,483 |
7.85% |
Asian Language** |
2,443 |
0.58% |
4,517 |
1.06% |
Other |
1,135 |
0.27% |
1,699 |
0.40% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
422,652 |
100.00% |
426,558 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
23,693 |
42.91% |
Other Indo-European* |
13,241 |
39.55% |
Asian Language** |
2,550 |
56.45% |
Other Language |
459 |
27.02% |
Total |
39,943 |
9.36% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
17,773 |
48.93% |
Other Indo-European* |
13,045 |
33.02% |
Asian Language** |
1,493 |
61.11% |
Other Language |
244 |
21.50% |
Total |
32,555 |
7.70% |
* "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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