Smith 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 |
130,080 |
92.63% |
142,744 |
87.96% |
Spanish |
8,158 |
5.81% |
17,185 |
10.59% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,440 |
1.03% |
1,407 |
0.87% |
Asian Language** |
580 |
0.41% |
757 |
0.47% |
Other |
169 |
0.12% |
185 |
0.11% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
140,427 |
100.00% |
162,278 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
8,839 |
51.43% |
Other Indo-European* |
283 |
20.11% |
Asian Language** |
343 |
45.31% |
Other Language |
51 |
27.57% |
Total |
9,516 |
5.86% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,837 |
47.03% |
Other Indo-European* |
428 |
29.72% |
Asian Language** |
196 |
33.79% |
Other Language |
30 |
17.75% |
Total |
4,491 |
3.20% |
* "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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