Catawba 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 |
107,468 |
97.05% |
119,787 |
90.53% |
Spanish |
1,467 |
1.32% |
7,603 |
5.75% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,146 |
1.03% |
1,728 |
1.31% |
Asian Language** |
584 |
0.53% |
3,135 |
2.37% |
Other |
73 |
0.07% |
65 |
0.05% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
110,738 |
100.00% |
132,318 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
4,892 |
64.34% |
Other Indo-European* |
606 |
35.07% |
Asian Language** |
1,820 |
58.05% |
Other Language |
14 |
21.54% |
Total |
7,332 |
5.54% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
603 |
41.10% |
Other Indo-European* |
393 |
34.29% |
Asian Language** |
310 |
53.08% |
Other Language |
39 |
53.42% |
Total |
1,345 |
1.21% |
* "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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