Erie 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 |
242,150 |
94.72% |
248,148 |
94.11% |
Spanish |
2,956 |
1.16% |
5,481 |
2.08% |
Other Indo-European* |
9,189 |
3.59% |
8,218 |
3.12% |
Asian Language** |
880 |
0.34% |
1,119 |
0.42% |
Other |
462 |
0.18% |
712 |
0.27% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
255,637 |
100.00% |
263,678 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,734 |
31.64% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,875 |
34.98% |
Asian Language** |
507 |
45.31% |
Other Language |
346 |
48.60% |
Total |
5,462 |
2.07% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,161 |
39.28% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,782 |
30.28% |
Asian Language** |
411 |
46.70% |
Other Language |
141 |
30.52% |
Total |
4,495 |
1.76% |
* "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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