Genesee 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 |
379,155 |
95.42% |
386,259 |
95.47% |
Spanish |
5,816 |
1.46% |
7,556 |
1.87% |
Other Indo-European* |
8,564 |
2.16% |
6,256 |
1.55% |
Asian Language** |
1,341 |
0.34% |
1,645 |
0.41% |
Other |
2,487 |
0.63% |
2,870 |
0.71% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
397,363 |
100.00% |
404,586 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,227 |
29.47% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,551 |
24.79% |
Asian Language** |
660 |
40.12% |
Other Language |
674 |
23.48% |
Total |
5,112 |
1.26% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,762 |
30.30% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,359 |
27.55% |
Asian Language** |
566 |
42.21% |
Other Language |
645 |
25.93% |
Total |
5,332 |
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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