California
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 |
18,764,213 |
68.52% |
19,014,873 |
60.52% |
Spanish |
5,478,712 |
20.01% |
8,105,505 |
25.80% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,059,180 |
3.87% |
1,335,332 |
4.25% |
Asian Language** |
1,905,985 |
6.96% |
2,709,179 |
8.62% |
Other |
175,457 |
0.64% |
251,740 |
0.80% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
27,383,547 |
100.00% |
31,416,629 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
4,303,949 |
53.10% |
Other Indo-European* |
453,589 |
33.97% |
Asian Language** |
1,438,588 |
53.10% |
Other Language |
81,653 |
32.44% |
Total |
6,277,779 |
19.98% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
2,960,128 |
54.03% |
Other Indo-European* |
343,196 |
32.40% |
Asian Language** |
1,061,519 |
55.69% |
Other Language |
57,940 |
33.02% |
Total |
4,422,783 |
16.15% |
* "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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