Watauga 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 |
34,294 |
97.33% |
39,132 |
95.40% |
Spanish |
446 |
1.27% |
914 |
2.23% |
Other Indo-European* |
421 |
1.19% |
768 |
1.87% |
Asian Language** |
55 |
0.16% |
122 |
0.30% |
Other |
18 |
0.05% |
85 |
0.21% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
35,234 |
100.00% |
41,021 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
251 |
27.46% |
Other Indo-European* |
100 |
13.02% |
Asian Language** |
66 |
54.10% |
Other Language |
16 |
18.82% |
Total |
433 |
1.06% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
141 |
31.61% |
Other Indo-European* |
144 |
34.20% |
Asian Language** |
20 |
36.36% |
Other Language |
6 |
33.33% |
Total |
311 |
0.88% |
* "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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