Roanoke city
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 |
86,421 |
96.45% |
84,060 |
94.75% |
Spanish |
1,042 |
1.16% |
1,805 |
2.03% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,326 |
1.48% |
1,549 |
1.75% |
Asian Language** |
642 |
0.72% |
876 |
0.99% |
Other |
168 |
0.19% |
431 |
0.49% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
89,599 |
100.00% |
88,721 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
725 |
40.17% |
Other Indo-European* |
639 |
41.25% |
Asian Language** |
449 |
51.26% |
Other Language |
187 |
43.39% |
Total |
2,000 |
2.25% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
466 |
44.72% |
Other Indo-European* |
383 |
28.88% |
Asian Language** |
406 |
63.24% |
Other Language |
23 |
13.69% |
Total |
1,278 |
1.43% |
* "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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