Solano 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 |
250,842 |
80.72% |
276,347 |
75.44% |
Spanish |
25,312 |
8.14% |
44,187 |
12.06% |
Other Indo-European* |
8,665 |
2.79% |
10,404 |
2.84% |
Asian Language** |
25,354 |
8.16% |
33,918 |
9.26% |
Other |
596 |
0.19% |
1,446 |
0.39% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
310,769 |
100.00% |
366,302 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
20,721 |
46.89% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,740 |
26.34% |
Asian Language** |
12,295 |
36.25% |
Other Language |
398 |
27.52% |
Total |
36,154 |
9.87% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
10,565 |
41.74% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,211 |
25.52% |
Asian Language** |
9,353 |
36.89% |
Other Language |
118 |
19.80% |
Total |
22,247 |
7.16% |
* "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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