Belknap 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 |
42,605 |
93.13% |
50,244 |
94.22% |
Spanish |
372 |
0.81% |
636 |
1.19% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,573 |
5.62% |
2,176 |
4.08% |
Asian Language** |
167 |
0.37% |
215 |
0.40% |
Other |
31 |
0.07% |
57 |
0.11% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
45,748 |
100.00% |
53,328 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
244 |
38.36% |
Other Indo-European* |
544 |
25.00% |
Asian Language** |
115 |
53.49% |
Other Language |
32 |
56.14% |
Total |
935 |
1.75% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
78 |
20.97% |
Other Indo-European* |
619 |
24.06% |
Asian Language** |
87 |
52.10% |
Other Language |
12 |
38.71% |
Total |
796 |
1.74% |
* "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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