St. Joseph 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 |
51,962 |
95.73% |
53,534 |
92.42% |
Spanish |
520 |
0.96% |
2,150 |
3.71% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,482 |
2.73% |
2,037 |
3.52% |
Asian Language** |
227 |
0.42% |
167 |
0.29% |
Other |
91 |
0.17% |
36 |
0.06% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
54,282 |
100.00% |
57,924 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,278 |
59.44% |
Other Indo-European* |
767 |
37.65% |
Asian Language** |
79 |
47.31% |
Other Language |
24 |
66.67% |
Total |
2,148 |
3.71% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
195 |
37.50% |
Other Indo-European* |
519 |
35.02% |
Asian Language** |
74 |
32.60% |
Other Language |
25 |
27.47% |
Total |
813 |
1.50% |
* "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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