Milwaukee 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 |
800,018 |
90.49% |
758,473 |
86.87% |
Spanish |
31,866 |
3.60% |
63,277 |
7.25% |
Other Indo-European* |
39,488 |
4.47% |
30,994 |
3.55% |
Asian Language** |
9,643 |
1.09% |
16,155 |
1.85% |
Other |
3,060 |
0.35% |
4,249 |
0.49% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
884,075 |
100.00% |
873,148 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
30,342 |
47.95% |
Other Indo-European* |
10,553 |
34.05% |
Asian Language** |
8,406 |
52.03% |
Other Language |
1,118 |
26.31% |
Total |
50,419 |
5.77% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
13,047 |
40.94% |
Other Indo-European* |
12,194 |
30.88% |
Asian Language** |
5,938 |
61.58% |
Other Language |
945 |
30.88% |
Total |
32,124 |
3.63% |
* "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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