Wisconsin
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 |
4,267,496 |
94.18% |
4,653,361 |
92.66% |
Spanish |
75,931 |
1.68% |
168,778 |
3.36% |
Other Indo-European* |
143,832 |
3.17% |
124,719 |
2.48% |
Asian Language** |
33,715 |
0.74% |
61,447 |
1.22% |
Other |
10,160 |
0.22% |
13,768 |
0.27% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
4,531,134 |
100.00% |
5,022,073 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
76,697 |
45.44% |
Other Indo-European* |
36,736 |
29.46% |
Asian Language** |
31,942 |
51.98% |
Other Language |
3,535 |
25.68% |
Total |
148,910 |
2.97% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
28,400 |
37.40% |
Other Indo-European* |
41,449 |
28.82% |
Asian Language** |
20,812 |
61.73% |
Other Language |
2,635 |
25.94% |
Total |
93,296 |
2.06% |
* "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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