Pierce 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 |
491,986 |
91.44% |
574,433 |
88.23% |
Spanish |
10,351 |
1.92% |
24,602 |
3.78% |
Other Indo-European* |
15,736 |
2.92% |
19,065 |
2.93% |
Asian Language** |
18,809 |
3.50% |
31,447 |
4.83% |
Other |
1,169 |
0.22% |
1,534 |
0.24% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
538,051 |
100.00% |
651,081 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
9,664 |
39.28% |
Other Indo-European* |
5,468 |
28.68% |
Asian Language** |
16,012 |
50.92% |
Other Language |
379 |
24.71% |
Total |
31,523 |
4.84% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,218 |
31.09% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,530 |
22.43% |
Asian Language** |
10,165 |
54.04% |
Other Language |
244 |
20.87% |
Total |
17,157 |
3.19% |
* "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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