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 |
32,287 |
93.35% |
34,958 |
94.72% |
Spanish |
825 |
2.39% |
812 |
2.20% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,268 |
3.67% |
962 |
2.61% |
Asian Language** |
72 |
0.21% |
136 |
0.37% |
Other |
134 |
0.39% |
40 |
0.11% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
34,586 |
100.00% |
36,908 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
494 |
60.84% |
Other Indo-European* |
268 |
27.86% |
Asian Language** |
66 |
48.53% |
Other Language |
8 |
20.00% |
Total |
836 |
2.27% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
407 |
49.33% |
Other Indo-European* |
280 |
22.08% |
Asian Language** |
33 |
45.83% |
Other Language |
30 |
22.39% |
Total |
750 |
2.17% |
* "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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