Multnomah 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 |
492,167 |
90.77% |
515,735 |
83.37% |
Spanish |
12,397 |
2.29% |
38,767 |
6.27% |
Other Indo-European* |
16,514 |
3.05% |
29,348 |
4.74% |
Asian Language** |
18,519 |
3.42% |
30,310 |
4.90% |
Other |
2,627 |
0.48% |
4,457 |
0.72% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
542,224 |
100.00% |
618,617 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
21,686 |
55.94% |
Other Indo-European* |
13,345 |
45.47% |
Asian Language** |
18,275 |
60.29% |
Other Language |
1,699 |
38.12% |
Total |
55,005 |
8.89% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
5,084 |
41.01% |
Other Indo-European* |
6,315 |
38.24% |
Asian Language** |
10,517 |
56.79% |
Other Language |
908 |
34.56% |
Total |
22,824 |
4.21% |
* "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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