North Dakota
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 |
543,942 |
92.06% |
565,130 |
93.70% |
Spanish |
4,296 |
0.73% |
8,263 |
1.37% |
Other Indo-European* |
37,423 |
6.33% |
24,191 |
4.01% |
Asian Language** |
1,812 |
0.31% |
1,933 |
0.32% |
Other |
3,366 |
0.57% |
3,589 |
0.60% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
590,839 |
100.00% |
603,106 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,762 |
33.43% |
Other Indo-European* |
6,670 |
27.57% |
Asian Language** |
696 |
36.01% |
Other Language |
875 |
24.38% |
Total |
11,003 |
1.82% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,052 |
24.49% |
Other Indo-European* |
8,965 |
23.96% |
Asian Language** |
820 |
45.25% |
Other Language |
826 |
24.54% |
Total |
11,663 |
1.97% |
* "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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