Alameda 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 |
889,637 |
75.16% |
850,906 |
63.19% |
Spanish |
106,032 |
8.96% |
192,512 |
14.30% |
Other Indo-European* |
57,790 |
4.88% |
85,324 |
6.34% |
Asian Language** |
121,683 |
10.28% |
204,944 |
15.22% |
Other |
8,574 |
0.72% |
12,980 |
0.96% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
1,183,716 |
100.00% |
1,346,666 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
102,395 |
53.19% |
Other Indo-European* |
26,301 |
30.82% |
Asian Language** |
105,584 |
51.52% |
Other Language |
3,584 |
27.61% |
Total |
237,864 |
17.66% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
47,485 |
44.78% |
Other Indo-European* |
18,539 |
32.08% |
Asian Language** |
65,464 |
53.80% |
Other Language |
3,171 |
36.98% |
Total |
134,659 |
11.38% |
* "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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