Berkshire 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 |
121,405 |
92.92% |
119,754 |
93.59% |
Spanish |
975 |
0.75% |
2,053 |
1.60% |
Other Indo-European* |
7,383 |
5.65% |
5,204 |
4.07% |
Asian Language** |
578 |
0.44% |
675 |
0.53% |
Other |
309 |
0.24% |
264 |
0.21% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
130,650 |
100.00% |
127,950 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
653 |
31.81% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,333 |
25.61% |
Asian Language** |
229 |
33.93% |
Other Language |
81 |
30.68% |
Total |
2,296 |
1.79% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
326 |
33.44% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,082 |
28.20% |
Asian Language** |
263 |
45.50% |
Other Language |
81 |
26.21% |
Total |
2,752 |
2.11% |
* "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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