Brookings 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 |
22,594 |
95.35% |
25,210 |
94.77% |
Spanish |
142 |
0.60% |
418 |
1.57% |
Other Indo-European* |
653 |
2.76% |
686 |
2.58% |
Asian Language** |
213 |
0.90% |
191 |
0.72% |
Other |
95 |
0.40% |
96 |
0.36% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
23,697 |
100.00% |
26,601 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
110 |
26.32% |
Other Indo-European* |
314 |
45.77% |
Asian Language** |
96 |
50.26% |
Other Language |
9 |
9.38% |
Total |
529 |
1.99% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
19 |
13.38% |
Other Indo-European* |
188 |
28.79% |
Asian Language** |
183 |
85.92% |
Other Language |
41 |
43.16% |
Total |
431 |
1.82% |
* "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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