Monroe 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 8,187 96.94% 8,447 97.03%
Spanish 48 0.57% 35 0.40%
Other Indo-European* 210 2.49% 203 2.33%
Asian Language** 0 0.00% 21 0.24%
Other 0 0.00% 0 0.00%
Total Population Age 5+ 8,445 100.00% 8,706 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 11 31.43%
Other Indo-European* 120 59.11%
Asian Language** 14 66.67%
Other Language 0 -
Total 145 1.67%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 27 56.25%
Other Indo-European* 73 34.76%
Asian Language** 0 -
Other Language 0 -
Total 100 1.18%

* "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).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy