Somerset 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 |
190,235 |
85.07% |
212,271 |
77.05% |
Spanish |
8,595 |
3.84% |
22,593 |
8.20% |
Other Indo-European* |
17,557 |
7.85% |
23,969 |
8.70% |
Asian Language** |
4,844 |
2.17% |
12,920 |
4.69% |
Other |
2,389 |
1.07% |
3,732 |
1.35% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
223,620 |
100.00% |
275,485 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
12,347 |
54.65% |
Other Indo-European* |
6,820 |
28.45% |
Asian Language** |
4,422 |
34.23% |
Other Language |
1,116 |
29.90% |
Total |
24,705 |
8.97% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
4,085 |
47.53% |
Other Indo-European* |
5,124 |
29.18% |
Asian Language** |
2,237 |
46.18% |
Other Language |
716 |
29.97% |
Total |
12,162 |
5.44% |
* "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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