Benton 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 |
60,745 |
91.40% |
66,875 |
90.03% |
Spanish |
1,007 |
1.52% |
3,027 |
4.08% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,734 |
2.61% |
1,729 |
2.33% |
Asian Language** |
2,658 |
4.00% |
2,284 |
3.07% |
Other |
318 |
0.48% |
367 |
0.49% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
66,462 |
100.00% |
74,282 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,365 |
45.09% |
Other Indo-European* |
377 |
21.80% |
Asian Language** |
1,110 |
48.60% |
Other Language |
130 |
35.42% |
Total |
2,982 |
4.01% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
313 |
31.08% |
Other Indo-European* |
418 |
24.11% |
Asian Language** |
1,617 |
60.84% |
Other Language |
125 |
39.31% |
Total |
2,473 |
3.72% |
* "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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