Santa Clara 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 |
938,660 |
67.70% |
854,337 |
54.62% |
Spanish |
188,648 |
13.61% |
275,439 |
17.61% |
Other Indo-European* |
73,147 |
5.28% |
112,351 |
7.18% |
Asian Language** |
174,609 |
12.59% |
304,332 |
19.46% |
Other |
11,386 |
0.82% |
17,609 |
1.13% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
1,386,450 |
100.00% |
1,564,068 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
142,627 |
51.78% |
Other Indo-European* |
33,396 |
29.72% |
Asian Language** |
162,031 |
53.24% |
Other Language |
5,266 |
29.91% |
Total |
343,320 |
21.95% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
84,474 |
44.78% |
Other Indo-European* |
21,887 |
29.92% |
Asian Language** |
97,225 |
55.68% |
Other Language |
3,697 |
32.47% |
Total |
207,283 |
14.95% |
* "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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