Erie 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 |
817,974 |
90.70% |
812,588 |
91.01% |
Spanish |
18,298 |
2.03% |
26,315 |
2.95% |
Other Indo-European* |
55,757 |
6.18% |
40,851 |
4.58% |
Asian Language** |
5,620 |
0.62% |
7,582 |
0.85% |
Other |
4,232 |
0.47% |
5,543 |
0.62% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
901,881 |
100.00% |
892,879 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
9,792 |
37.21% |
Other Indo-European* |
12,180 |
29.82% |
Asian Language** |
3,615 |
47.68% |
Other Language |
1,837 |
33.14% |
Total |
27,424 |
3.07% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
7,307 |
39.93% |
Other Indo-European* |
16,282 |
29.20% |
Asian Language** |
2,687 |
47.81% |
Other Language |
1,302 |
30.77% |
Total |
27,578 |
3.06% |
* "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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