Washtenaw 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 |
239,751 |
90.82% |
262,763 |
86.78% |
Spanish |
4,592 |
1.74% |
8,017 |
2.65% |
Other Indo-European* |
9,649 |
3.66% |
14,215 |
4.69% |
Asian Language** |
7,673 |
2.91% |
13,221 |
4.37% |
Other |
2,329 |
0.88% |
4,569 |
1.51% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
263,994 |
100.00% |
302,785 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,920 |
36.42% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,430 |
24.13% |
Asian Language** |
6,069 |
45.90% |
Other Language |
1,104 |
24.16% |
Total |
13,523 |
4.47% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,321 |
28.77% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,098 |
21.74% |
Asian Language** |
3,612 |
47.07% |
Other Language |
523 |
22.46% |
Total |
7,554 |
2.86% |
* "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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