Clackamas 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 |
244,918 |
94.39% |
286,210 |
90.43% |
Spanish |
5,299 |
2.04% |
13,853 |
4.38% |
Other Indo-European* |
5,869 |
2.26% |
9,720 |
3.07% |
Asian Language** |
2,696 |
1.04% |
5,635 |
1.78% |
Other |
695 |
0.27% |
1,098 |
0.35% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
259,477 |
100.00% |
316,516 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
6,677 |
48.20% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,434 |
35.33% |
Asian Language** |
2,531 |
44.92% |
Other Language |
368 |
33.52% |
Total |
13,010 |
4.11% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,248 |
42.42% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,430 |
24.37% |
Asian Language** |
1,180 |
43.77% |
Other Language |
167 |
24.03% |
Total |
5,025 |
1.94% |
* "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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