CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.
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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 | 198,600,798 | 86.18% | 215,423,557 | 82.11% |
| Spanish | 17,345,064 | 7.53% | 28,101,052 | 10.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,790,133 | 3.81% | 10,017,989 | 3.82% |
| Asian Language** | 4,471,621 | 1.94% | 6,960,065 | 2.65% |
| Other | 1,238,161 | 0.54% | 1,872,489 | 0.71% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 230,445,777 | 100.00% | 262,375,152 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 13,751,256 | 48.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,390,301 | 33.84% |
| Asian Language** | 3,590,024 | 51.58% |
| Other Language | 588,826 | 31.45% |
| Total | 21,320,407 | 8.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,309,995 | 47.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,844,409 | 32.36% |
| Asian Language** | 2,420,355 | 54.13% |
| Other Language | 407,743 | 32.93% |
| Total | 13,982,502 | 6.07% |
* "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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