Dawson 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 |
17,839 |
96.14% |
17,209 |
77.10% |
Spanish |
480 |
2.59% |
4,854 |
21.75% |
Other Indo-European* |
216 |
1.16% |
129 |
0.58% |
Asian Language** |
11 |
0.06% |
96 |
0.43% |
Other |
9 |
0.05% |
32 |
0.14% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
18,555 |
100.00% |
22,320 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,230 |
66.54% |
Other Indo-European* |
13 |
10.08% |
Asian Language** |
86 |
89.58% |
Other Language |
9 |
28.13% |
Total |
3,338 |
14.96% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
212 |
44.17% |
Other Indo-European* |
61 |
28.24% |
Asian Language** |
4 |
36.36% |
Other Language |
0 |
- |
Total |
277 |
1.49% |
* "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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