Dauphin 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 |
206,771 |
93.42% |
216,635 |
91.48% |
Spanish |
4,981 |
2.25% |
9,325 |
3.94% |
Other Indo-European* |
7,318 |
3.31% |
6,399 |
2.70% |
Asian Language** |
1,615 |
0.73% |
3,237 |
1.37% |
Other |
640 |
0.29% |
1,205 |
0.51% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
221,325 |
100.00% |
236,801 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
3,722 |
39.91% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,003 |
31.30% |
Asian Language** |
1,982 |
61.23% |
Other Language |
409 |
33.94% |
Total |
8,116 |
3.43% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,990 |
39.95% |
Other Indo-European* |
2,209 |
30.19% |
Asian Language** |
892 |
55.23% |
Other Language |
151 |
23.59% |
Total |
5,242 |
2.37% |
* "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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