Rockland 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 |
191,765 |
77.83% |
185,673 |
70.06% |
Spanish |
13,564 |
5.51% |
24,218 |
9.14% |
Other Indo-European* |
31,904 |
12.95% |
39,869 |
15.04% |
Asian Language** |
6,314 |
2.56% |
10,343 |
3.90% |
Other |
2,847 |
1.16% |
4,899 |
1.85% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
246,394 |
100.00% |
265,002 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
11,391 |
47.04% |
Other Indo-European* |
16,382 |
41.09% |
Asian Language** |
3,820 |
36.93% |
Other Language |
1,337 |
27.29% |
Total |
32,930 |
12.43% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
5,955 |
43.90% |
Other Indo-European* |
12,885 |
40.39% |
Asian Language** |
2,996 |
47.45% |
Other Language |
701 |
24.62% |
Total |
22,537 |
9.15% |
* "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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