Kennebec 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 |
97,223 |
89.95% |
102,051 |
92.18% |
Spanish |
382 |
0.35% |
736 |
0.66% |
Other Indo-European* |
9,862 |
9.12% |
7,337 |
6.63% |
Asian Language** |
406 |
0.38% |
512 |
0.46% |
Other |
215 |
0.20% |
70 |
0.06% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
108,088 |
100.00% |
110,706 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
218 |
29.62% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,816 |
24.75% |
Asian Language** |
252 |
49.22% |
Other Language |
4 |
5.71% |
Total |
2,290 |
2.07% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
131 |
34.29% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,001 |
30.43% |
Asian Language** |
248 |
61.08% |
Other Language |
75 |
34.88% |
Total |
3,455 |
3.20% |
* "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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