Census Trend Charts Demographic Maps Rankings & Comparisons Segregation Data  

Zoom in and out of geography at levels: US, States or Metro Areas, and Counties within States.

You can zoom out to South Carolina


Visit the SSDAN Web Site
CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.

Lancaster County

Print-Friendly Version

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 49,478 97.98% 55,399 96.50%
Spanish 490 0.97% 1,325 2.31%
Other Indo-European* 475 0.94% 506 0.88%
Asian Language** 47 0.09% 121 0.21%
Other 9 0.02% 60 0.10%
Total Population Age 5+ 50,499 100.00% 57,411 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 614 46.34%
Other Indo-European* 124 24.51%
Asian Language** 75 61.98%
Other Language 8 13.33%
Total 821 1.43%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 196 40.00%
Other Indo-European* 127 26.74%
Asian Language** 12 25.53%
Other Language 9 100.00%
Total 344 0.68%

* "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).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy