Maricopa 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 |
1,642,022 |
84.09% |
2,148,696 |
75.85% |
Spanish |
227,500 |
11.65% |
540,742 |
19.09% |
Other Indo-European* |
47,471 |
2.43% |
70,694 |
2.50% |
Asian Language** |
20,196 |
1.03% |
45,155 |
1.59% |
Other |
15,607 |
0.80% |
27,407 |
0.97% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
1,952,796 |
100.00% |
2,832,694 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
280,854 |
51.94% |
Other Indo-European* |
19,867 |
28.10% |
Asian Language** |
20,221 |
44.78% |
Other Language |
7,093 |
25.88% |
Total |
328,035 |
11.58% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
93,507 |
41.10% |
Other Indo-European* |
12,704 |
26.76% |
Asian Language** |
10,131 |
50.16% |
Other Language |
4,457 |
28.56% |
Total |
120,799 |
6.19% |
* "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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