Dakota 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 |
238,795 |
95.65% |
303,539 |
92.41% |
Spanish |
2,915 |
1.17% |
8,499 |
2.59% |
Other Indo-European* |
5,506 |
2.21% |
8,167 |
2.49% |
Asian Language** |
2,105 |
0.84% |
6,277 |
1.91% |
Other |
326 |
0.13% |
2,000 |
0.61% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
249,647 |
100.00% |
328,482 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,382 |
39.79% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,452 |
30.02% |
Asian Language** |
3,133 |
49.91% |
Other Language |
691 |
34.55% |
Total |
9,658 |
2.94% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
951 |
32.62% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,499 |
27.22% |
Asian Language** |
1,073 |
50.97% |
Other Language |
29 |
8.90% |
Total |
3,552 |
1.42% |
* "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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