Bergen 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 |
599,146 |
77.12% |
560,343 |
67.56% |
Spanish |
42,204 |
5.43% |
79,959 |
9.64% |
Other Indo-European* |
87,968 |
11.32% |
103,329 |
12.46% |
Asian Language** |
38,512 |
4.96% |
70,421 |
8.49% |
Other |
9,034 |
1.16% |
15,403 |
1.86% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
776,864 |
100.00% |
829,455 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
34,640 |
43.32% |
Other Indo-European* |
38,489 |
37.25% |
Asian Language** |
36,902 |
52.40% |
Other Language |
4,173 |
27.09% |
Total |
114,204 |
13.77% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
17,691 |
41.92% |
Other Indo-European* |
30,322 |
34.47% |
Asian Language** |
22,316 |
57.95% |
Other Language |
2,729 |
30.21% |
Total |
73,058 |
9.40% |
* "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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