Athens 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 |
53,427 |
94.74% |
56,027 |
94.60% |
Spanish |
660 |
1.17% |
1,006 |
1.70% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,102 |
1.95% |
1,017 |
1.72% |
Asian Language** |
1,001 |
1.77% |
851 |
1.44% |
Other |
206 |
0.37% |
323 |
0.55% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
56,396 |
100.00% |
59,224 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
345 |
34.29% |
Other Indo-European* |
262 |
25.76% |
Asian Language** |
431 |
50.65% |
Other Language |
142 |
43.96% |
Total |
1,180 |
1.99% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
261 |
39.55% |
Other Indo-European* |
202 |
18.33% |
Asian Language** |
514 |
51.35% |
Other Language |
59 |
28.64% |
Total |
1,036 |
1.84% |
* "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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