Essex 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 |
551,010 |
76.14% |
517,923 |
70.32% |
Spanish |
78,604 |
10.86% |
108,723 |
14.76% |
Other Indo-European* |
75,354 |
10.41% |
79,843 |
10.84% |
Asian Language** |
12,782 |
1.77% |
17,702 |
2.40% |
Other |
5,941 |
0.82% |
12,345 |
1.68% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
723,691 |
100.00% |
736,536 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
52,993 |
48.74% |
Other Indo-European* |
36,223 |
45.37% |
Asian Language** |
6,620 |
37.40% |
Other Language |
2,426 |
19.65% |
Total |
98,262 |
13.34% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
40,137 |
51.06% |
Other Indo-European* |
34,641 |
45.97% |
Asian Language** |
5,447 |
42.61% |
Other Language |
1,451 |
24.42% |
Total |
81,676 |
11.29% |
* "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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