Hampshire 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 |
122,714 |
88.56% |
128,539 |
88.28% |
Spanish |
3,253 |
2.35% |
4,958 |
3.41% |
Other Indo-European* |
8,940 |
6.45% |
7,898 |
5.42% |
Asian Language** |
3,218 |
2.32% |
3,373 |
2.32% |
Other |
441 |
0.32% |
831 |
0.57% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
138,566 |
100.00% |
145,599 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,435 |
28.94% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,643 |
20.80% |
Asian Language** |
1,301 |
38.57% |
Other Language |
68 |
8.18% |
Total |
4,447 |
3.05% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,137 |
34.95% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,221 |
24.84% |
Asian Language** |
1,743 |
54.16% |
Other Language |
45 |
10.20% |
Total |
5,146 |
3.71% |
* "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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