Delaware 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 |
470,450 |
92.36% |
468,531 |
90.73% |
Spanish |
6,793 |
1.33% |
8,751 |
1.69% |
Other Indo-European* |
24,017 |
4.72% |
24,048 |
4.66% |
Asian Language** |
6,677 |
1.31% |
11,709 |
2.27% |
Other |
1,432 |
0.28% |
3,348 |
0.65% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
509,369 |
100.00% |
516,387 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,095 |
35.37% |
Other Indo-European* |
7,407 |
30.80% |
Asian Language** |
6,248 |
53.36% |
Other Language |
1,012 |
30.23% |
Total |
17,762 |
3.44% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,426 |
35.71% |
Other Indo-European* |
7,088 |
29.51% |
Asian Language** |
3,482 |
52.15% |
Other Language |
445 |
31.08% |
Total |
13,441 |
2.64% |
* "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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