Daniel Kies
Department of English
College of DuPageModern English Grammar
English 2126Contact Form Hearing Voices: On the Mismatch between Perception and Reality in U.S. Attitudes Toward English as a Global Language
This paper was originally presented as a plenary lecture for the International TESOL-ELT Conference at Moscow City Pedagogical University, Samara, Russia, 6 May 2002.
Though I risk offending some by my choice of title, a title that evokes all the negative stereotypes associated with schizophrenia, I felt the risk was worthwhile since the uneasiness that people feel when faced with serious mental illness seems analogous to the uneasiness that many Americans feel when hearing people speak Hmong or Arabic at the local market or seeing signs in Spanish or Cantonese at the post office or cleaners. Hearing voices that are not akin to our own has always been a source of discomfort. Those voices remind us that we are not alone, that others do not share our ways, and that we can not share theirs. They are alien.
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Log in? | Privacy | Change Name & EmailTo ease that discomfort, many Americans have proposed making English the official language of the United States. The reasons for the proposal are as diverse as Americans themselves. S. I. Hayakawa, the late Senator of the State of California and proponent of the English language amendment, argued that English functioned as a sort of social glue: Americans have no shared ancestry, no common race or ethnicity; therefore, a common language serves as the link that builds community. George Will, the Newsweek columnist and conservative pundit, argues too that a common language creates a national character. Will is fond of quoting Teddy Roosevelt on this issue, a president who once said,
"We have room for but one language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house."
Still others argue that non-English influences will corrupt or cause the death of English, that English is lessened in some way by the influence of foreign words.
Yet those arguments are unsound for several reasons: first, those who advocate English as social glue are in the ironic position of destroying one community (the community created by common ancestry, culture, and language to foster a second, artificial community — American). To me, that smacks of ethnocentrism in its worst form. Second, those who argue that English is necessary for economic success need not convince immigrants. Any school administrator, director of adult education, or teacher of English will tell you that the demand for classes in English as a second language is enormous. Indeed, our jobs as teachers and this conference itself are testaments to the demand for English as a second language.
Further, a little reflection into many American families' backgrounds will in all likelihood remind them of my family's language history: my grandparents came to America from Western and Eastern Europe, and three of four grandparents never learned English, succeeding socially and economically in the largely ethnic neighborhoods of large American metropolitan areas. However, without the demands for English as an official language, my parents recognized that social and economic opportunity depended on learning English. Consequently, without the need for legislation, that first generation born in America became bilingual. As this natural process continued, my generation now finds it difficult to speak to the grandparents at all. My generation is for all real purposes an English only generation. And many in my generation regret the loss of our family's native tongues — the ability to communicate with relatives, the cultural and social identity it provided to our parents and grandparents.
Next, we can dismiss the arguments that foreign words will corrupt the language be reflecting on the fact that throughout its history English has borrowed hundreds of thousands of words that you and I use everyday, words like the names for our clothing (pants is a Spanish word) or for our favorite foods and beverages (coffee is an Arabic word borrowed in the 17th century). English has always been enriched by contact with other languages in the past and there is no reason to suppose that is likely to change now.
Finally, my mother's edict that I had better say nothing rather than say anything bad forbids me from speculating on other motives for the English language amendment, but you don't need me to remind you that xenophobia or racism are real problems in the United States.
Instead, I will make a simpler claim: America has always been and remains today a multilingual nation, but the perception America is being over-run by foreigners who either can not or will not speak English does not match the reality of language use in America today. The vast majority of Americans of all ethnic backgrounds know and speak English. To the question of America being overrun by non-English speakers – I can only share the facts of language use in the United States reported in the U.S. census. Consider Table 1 below.
Language Use Data
By Constitutional mandate, the United States undergoes a complete census of the country's population every 10 years. The purpose of the census initially was to allocate seats in the House of Representatives to those states and districts who had the greatest population. This is representative democracy at work. In later years, census data has also been used as a means to distribute public money to areas with the greatest public need. Beginning with the 1980 census, the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting information about language use and the ability to speak English.
The following questions were asked in the 1990 census:
- Does this person speak a language other than English at home?
- What is this language?
- (For those who speak another language) How well does this person speak English? -- very well, well, not well, not at all.
The same questions were asked in the 1980 census. In earlier censuses the questions were about "mother tongue" (language spoken when the person was a child) or only for a select group (e.g. foreign born).
Only 1.8 million persons – 8/10 of one percent of U.S. residents – spoke no English at all in 1990.
Census Data on Language Spoken at Home and Self-Reported English-Speaking Ability,
United States, 1980 and 1990Home Language
1980
%
1990
%
Change
All speakers,
age 5+210,247,455
100.0
230,445,777
100.0
+9.6%
English only
187,187,415
89.0
198,600798
86.2
+6.1%
Language other than English
23,060,040
11.0
31,844,979
13.8
+38.1%
Speaks English very well
12,879,004
6.1
17,862,477
7.8
+38.7%
... well
5,957,544
2.8
7,310,301
3.2
+22.7%
... not well
3,005,503
1.4
4,826,958
2.1
+60.6%
... not at all
1,217,989
0.6
1,845,243
0.8
+51.5%
... with some "difficulty"*
10,181,036
4.8
13,982,502
6.1
+37.3%
*Includes all persons who report speaking English less than "very well."Sources: 1980 Census of Population, vol. 1, chap. D, pt. 1 (PC80-1-D1-A); U.S. Census Bureau, "Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for United States, Regions, and States: 1990" (1990 CPH-L-133).
The numbers from the 1990 census itself indicate the large percentages of U.S. residents for whom English is a primary or often used second language:
Table 1. Language Use and English Ability, Persons 5 Years and Over, by State: 1990 Census
Persons 5 Years and Over
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaks NonEnglish Language at Home In Households
------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------
Speaks Ability to Speak English Linguist- All Speak
only -------------------------------------------- Speaks ically NonEnglish
State Total English Total Percent Very well Well Not well Not at all Spanish Isolated* Language
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US, Total 230,445,777 198,600,798 31,844,979 13.8 17,862,477 7,310,301 4,826,958 1,845,243 17,345,064 7,741,259 22,347,838
Alabama 3,759,802 3,651,936 107,866 2.9 71,848 22,656 12,434 928 42,653 11,066 35,841
Alaska 495,425 435,260 60,165 12.1 37,685 14,846 6,585 1,049 10,020 9,410 33,284
Arizona 3,374,806 2,674,519 700,287 20.8 424,380 153,484 85,157 37,266 478,234 143,397 485,838
Arkansas 2,186,665 2,125,884 60,781 2.8 39,396 11,909 8,636 840 27,351 8,188 21,834
California 27,383,547 18,764,213 8,619,334 31.5 4,196,551 2,010,713 1,608,830 803,240 5,478,712 2,680,665 6,676,115
Colorado 3,042,986 2,722,355 320,631 10.5 210,742 65,502 36,713 7,674 203,896 53,924 181,204
Connecticut 3,060,000 2,593,825 466,175 15.2 282,157 111,698 58,085 14,235 167,007 96,755 317,520
Delaware 617,720 575,393 42,327 6.9 27,758 9,130 4,701 738 15,302 6,209 22,799
D.C. 570,284 498,936 71,348 12.5 42,220 14,572 11,258 3,298 35,021 16,791 47,539
Florida 12,095,284 9,996,969 2,098,315 17.3 1,137,012 454,892 325,433 180,978 1,447,747 547,169 1,602,078
Georgia 5,984,188 5,699,642 284,546 4.8 175,496 60,477 39,800 8,773 122,295 48,609 135,580
Hawaii 1,026,209 771,485 254,724 24.8 130,306 76,827 42,225 5,366 13,729 56,638 143,305
Idaho 926,703 867,708 58,995 6.4 36,699 10,823 8,501 2,972 37,081 10,816 31,323
Illinois 10,585,838 9,086,726 1,499,112 14.2 841,129 349,780 237,365 70,838 728,380 370,081 1,100,609
Indiana 5,146,160 4,900,334 245,826 4.8 158,844 57,770 26,762 2,450 90,146 35,863 120,162
Iowa 2,583,526 2,483,135 100,391 3.9 64,984 21,984 12,169 1,254 31,620 15,040 43,885
Kansas 2,289,615 2,158,011 131,604 5.7 83,262 28,254 17,211 2,877 62,059 24,235 68,019
Kentucky 3,434,955 3,348,473 86,482 2.5 57,059 17,742 10,669 1,012 31,293 8,419 27,365
Louisiana 3,886,353 3,494,359 391,994 10.1 263,689 87,844 35,670 4,791 72,173 58,721 196,981
Maine 1,142,122 1,036,681 105,441 9.2 77,682 20,614 6,697 448 5,934 12,038 56,447
Maryland 4,425,285 4,030,234 395,051 8.9 246,558 86,309 51,899 10,285 122,871 72,827 241,751
Massachusetts 5,605,751 4,753,523 852,228 15.2 503,442 190,011 118,792 39,983 228,458 199,367 597,716
Michigan 8,594,737 8,024,930 569,807 6.6 381,145 118,799 61,113 8,750 137,490 84,011 316,875
Minnesota 4,038,861 3,811,700 227,161 5.6 147,820 48,487 26,149 4,705 42,362 40,207 117,704
Mississippi 2,378,805 2,312,289 66,516 2.8 42,004 15,434 8,505 573 25,061 7,684 22,752
Missouri 4,748,704 4,570,494 178,210 3.8 115,272 39,521 21,605 1,812 59,585 24,840 75,099
Montana 740,218 703,198 37,020 5.0 25,563 8,379 2,905 173 8,083 3,755 14,762
Nebraska 1,458,904 1,389,032 69,872 4.8 47,620 13,712 7,683 857 24,555 9,147 33,033
Nevada 1,110,450 964,298 146,152 13.2 83,984 33,477 21,570 7,121 85,474 36,443 93,704
New Hampshire 1,024,621 935,825 88,796 8.7 63,986 17,258 6,739 813 9,619 10,975 45,083
New Jersey 7,200,696 5,794,548 1,406,148 19.5 797,152 330,728 210,382 67,886 621,416 329,111 1,048,685
New Mexico 1,390,048 896,049 493,999 35.5 334,379 103,456 43,373 12,791 388,186 82,384 344,802
New York 16,743,048 12,834,328 3,908,720 23.3 2,143,194 937,207 617,596 210,723 1,848,825 1,006,857 2,995,050
North Carolina 6,172,301 5,931,435 240,866 3.9 154,052 49,332 34,169 3,313 105,963 28,473 91,354
North Dakota 590,839 543,942 46,897 7.9 35,234 8,630 2,954 79 4,296 5,124 24,111
Ohio 10,063,212 9,517,064 546,148 5.4 356,283 124,333 59,610 5,922 139,194 85,223 284,623
Oklahoma 2,921,755 2,775,957 145,798 5.0 93,913 31,449 17,887 2,549 64,562 23,066 69,262
Oregon 2,640,482 2,448,772 191,710 7.3 113,548 40,234 29,061 8,867 83,087 39,740 112,237
Pennsylvania 11,085,170 10,278,294 806,876 7.3 513,867 184,976 90,828 17,205 213,096 141,473 467,189
Rhode Island 936,423 776,931 159,492 17.0 93,565 34,376 23,612 7,939 35,492 36,909 113,267
South Carolina 3,231,539 3,118,376 113,163 3.5 75,406 23,614 13,164 979 44,427 10,190 37,578
South Dakota 641,226 599,232 41,994 6.5 29,491 8,614 3,773 116 5,033 5,681 19,525
Tennessee 4,544,743 4,413,193 131,550 2.9 86,026 27,125 17,203 1,196 49,661 15,771 48,531
Texas 15,605,822 11,635,518 3,970,304 25.4 2,204,581 953,668 570,117 241,938 3,443,106 988,458 3,066,329
Utah 1,553,351 1,432,947 120,404 7.8 79,579 25,043 13,582 2,200 51,945 17,875 59,540
Vermont 521,521 491,112 30,409 5.8 23,162 4,789 2,314 144 3,196 2,954 13,515
Virginia 5,746,419 5,327,898 418,521 7.3 257,292 92,008 56,415 12,806 152,663 78,452 243,000
Washington 4,501,879 4,098,706 403,173 9.0 237,966 87,786 60,325 17,096 143,647 89,268 239,724
West Virginia 1,686,932 1,642,729 44,203 2.6 30,609 8,241 5,097 256 13,337 3,845 14,960
Wisconsin 4,531,134 4,267,496 263,638 5.8 170,342 57,149 31,159 4,988 75,931 44,285 137,916
Wyoming 418,713 394,904 23,809 5.7 16,543 4,639 2,476 151 13,790 2,830 10,433
* A linguistically isolated household is one in which no person 14 or older speaks English at least very well.
NOTE: 1990 Census language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" "What is this language?"
"How well does this person speak English --very well, well, not well, not at all?"
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, CPHL-96
Contact: Education and Social Stratification Branch, Population Division 301-457-2464
As one can see from Table 1, the percent of people 5 or older who speak English "Not well" or "Not at all" in the US was 3% in 1990 (and 3% in Illinois, my home state as well).
Table 1 Highlights
Percent of people 5 or older who speak English "Not well" or "Not at all"
- in the US 3%
- in Illinois 3%
Furthermore, if one examines the census data in Tables 2 and 3, one sees that younger people are eager to learn English:
Table 2. Language Use and English Ability, Persons 5 to 17 Years, by State: 1990 Census
Persons 5-17 Years Old
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaks NonEnglish Language at Home In Households
------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------
Speaks Ability to Speak English Linguist- All Speak
only --------------------------------------- Speaks ically NonEnglish
State Total English Total Percent Very well Well Not well Not at all Spanish Isolated* Language
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US, Total 45,342,448 39,019,514 6,322,934 13.9 3,934,691 1,480,680 761,778 145,785 4,167,653 1,763,173 4,834,637
Alabama 779,216 756,094 23,122 3.0 15,005 4,913 3,060 144 11,366 2,122 5,421
Alaska 117,070 105,912 11,158 9.5 7,047 2,949 1,096 66 1,552 2,370 7,487
Arizona 688,361 531,579 156,782 22.8 95,713 38,896 18,715 3,458 113,768 38,436 126,784
Arkansas 457,208 443,621 13,587 3.0 9,283 2,328 1,923 53 7,427 1,582 3,432
California 5,363,005 3,484,048 1,878,957 35.0 1,082,052 466,896 255,816 74,193 1,350,598 681,504 1,621,098
Colorado 608,578 557,376 51,202 8.4 33,294 10,407 6,817 684 34,189 11,171 32,667
Connecticut 522,667 444,626 78,041 14.9 51,303 17,411 8,048 1,279 45,274 20,602 60,721
Delaware 114,559 107,156 7,403 6.5 4,638 1,690 982 93 4,006 1,265 4,007
D.C. 80,008 70,564 9,444 11.8 5,455 2,371 1,315 303 6,136 2,409 6,001
Florida 2,021,858 1,661,406 360,452 17.8 247,011 74,030 32,757 6,654 279,337 90,770 288,400
Georgia 1,236,622 1,180,646 55,976 4.5 36,142 11,830 7,226 778 27,123 9,836 24,841
Hawaii 198,205 168,605 29,600 14.9 18,347 7,895 3,234 124 1,654 9,359 20,280
Idaho 227,791 214,550 13,241 5.8 8,608 2,443 1,901 289 9,971 2,866 8,034
Illinois 2,103,057 1,800,970 302,087 14.4 200,056 62,009 33,428 6,594 194,776 82,239 238,226
Indiana 1,059,526 1,007,875 51,651 4.9 32,573 12,531 6,056 491 22,148 7,833 23,730
Iowa 526,115 505,375 20,740 3.9 13,365 4,411 2,792 172 9,242 2,798 6,793
Kansas 474,043 449,007 25,036 5.3 16,218 5,282 3,297 239 13,941 5,136 13,143
Kentucky 705,277 685,214 20,063 2.8 12,588 4,381 2,874 220 9,046 1,936 4,987
Louisiana 895,657 846,275 49,382 5.5 32,556 10,232 6,270 324 15,347 7,632 21,821
Maine 223,494 213,608 9,886 4.4 7,231 1,518 1,091 46 1,407 958 4,429
Maryland 806,039 738,135 67,904 8.4 46,025 13,475 7,597 807 26,173 13,665 41,444
Massachusetts 940,711 797,183 143,528 15.3 93,084 31,694 16,011 2,739 62,671 43,070 115,175
Michigan 1,761,163 1,665,200 95,963 5.4 68,148 16,904 10,132 779 33,087 15,108 50,969
Minnesota 831,671 789,508 42,163 5.1 25,150 9,687 6,468 858 11,275 9,835 20,311
Mississippi 552,960 536,366 16,594 3.0 10,408 4,155 1,958 73 7,175 2,055 4,935
Missouri 947,101 913,370 33,731 3.6 21,501 7,300 4,705 225 13,817 4,876 11,798
Montana 163,940 157,558 6,382 3.9 4,280 1,486 553 63 1,711 622 2,357
Nebraska 309,706 298,450 11,256 3.6 7,933 1,967 1,314 42 5,669 1,263 4,161
Nevada 203,376 179,321 24,055 11.8 15,102 5,411 2,847 695 17,057 7,305 17,481
New Hampshire 194,492 185,931 8,561 4.4 5,974 1,601 906 80 2,189 1,271 3,846
New Jersey 1,269,172 1,023,377 245,795 19.4 169,522 49,905 22,902 3,466 140,311 63,842 202,675
New Mexico 321,418 226,699 94,719 29.5 60,940 23,008 9,993 778 72,512 20,804 78,363
New York 3,008,894 2,308,106 700,788 23.3 452,840 158,693 75,993 13,262 415,623 191,623 573,348
North Carolina 1,152,157 1,097,775 54,382 4.7 32,598 12,003 9,336 445 31,276 5,680 15,090
North Dakota 127,720 124,264 3,456 2.7 2,562 637 251 6 1,220 313 938
Ohio 2,019,893 1,919,304 100,589 5.0 64,019 22,770 12,825 975 37,885 16,413 46,490
Oklahoma 613,015 584,664 28,351 4.6 18,878 5,431 3,778 264 16,088 5,176 14,091
Oregon 522,568 485,792 36,776 7.0 23,607 7,374 4,975 820 19,323 9,003 23,756
Pennsylvania 2,000,469 1,864,266 136,203 6.8 86,416 32,541 15,648 1,598 58,039 27,916 81,128
Rhode Island 158,964 132,994 25,970 16.3 17,042 5,497 2,916 515 9,730 7,967 20,861
South Carolina 666,884 643,538 23,346 3.5 15,278 5,170 2,837 61 11,401 1,978 5,629
South Dakota 144,167 138,318 5,849 4.1 3,919 1,170 709 51 1,449 902 2,462
Tennessee 883,214 854,520 28,694 3.2 18,992 5,435 4,112 155 13,206 3,242 8,405
Texas 3,454,664 2,480,382 974,282 28.2 582,401 261,195 113,449 17,237 892,384 273,500 828,503
Utah 458,429 432,995 25,434 5.5 17,006 5,055 3,151 222 11,795 3,947 12,571
Vermont 102,343 99,131 3,212 3.1 2,438 496 264 14 566 246 1,008
Virginia 1,063,388 988,754 74,634 7.0 50,966 15,195 7,621 852 31,551 14,680 43,624
Washington 893,647 815,380 78,267 8.8 48,190 17,286 11,158 1,633 35,674 22,232 52,518
West Virginia 337,661 328,532 9,129 2.7 6,314 1,567 1,227 21 3,878 494 1,558
Wisconsin 930,099 878,928 51,171 5.5 31,851 11,448 7,041 831 22,158 10,809 25,201
Wyoming 100,206 96,266 3,940 3.9 2,822 701 403 14 2,452 512 1,639
* A linguistically isolated household is one in which no person 14 or older speaks English at least very well.
NOTE: 1990 Census language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" "What is this language?"
"How well does this person speak English --very well, well, not well, not at all?"
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, CPHL-96
Contact: Education and Social Stratification Branch, Population Division 301-457-2464
Table 2 Highlights
Percent of people 5 to 17 who speak English "Not well" or "Not at all"
- in the US 0.3%
- in Illinois 0.4%
Table 3. Language Use and English Ability, Persons 18 Years and Over, by State: 1990 Census
Persons 18 Years and Over
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaks NonEnglish Language at Home In Households
-------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
Speaks Ability to Speak English Linguist- All Speak
only ---------------------------------------------- Speaks ically NonEnglish
State Total English Total Percent Very well Well Not well Not at all Spanish Isolated* Language
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US, Total 185,103,329 159,581,284 25,522,045 13.8 13,927,786 5,829,621 4,065,180 1,699,458 13,177,411 5,978,086 17,513,201
Alabama 2,980,586 2,895,842 84,744 2.8 56,843 17,743 9,374 784 31,287 8,944 30,420
Alaska 378,355 329,348 49,007 13.0 30,638 11,897 5,489 983 8,468 7,040 25,797
Arizona 2,686,445 2,142,940 543,505 20.2 328,667 114,588 66,442 33,808 364,466 104,961 359,054
Arkansas 1,729,457 1,682,263 47,194 2.7 30,113 9,581 6,713 787 19,924 6,606 18,402
California 22,020,542 15,280,165 6,740,377 30.6 3,114,499 1,543,817 1,353,014 729,047 4,128,114 1,999,161 5,055,017
Colorado 2,434,408 2,164,979 269,429 11.1 177,448 55,095 29,896 6,990 169,707 42,753 148,537
Connecticut 2,537,333 2,149,199 388,134 15.3 230,854 94,287 50,037 12,956 121,733 76,153 256,799
Delaware 503,161 468,237 34,924 6.9 23,120 7,440 3,719 645 11,296 4,944 18,792
D.C. 490,276 428,372 61,904 12.6 36,765 12,201 9,943 2,995 28,885 14,382 41,538
Florida 10,073,426 8,335,563 1,737,863 17.3 890,001 380,862 292,676 174,324 1,168,410 456,399 1,313,678
Georgia 4,747,566 4,518,996 228,570 4.8 139,354 48,647 32,574 7,995 95,172 38,773 110,739
Hawaii 828,004 602,880 225,124 27.2 111,959 68,932 38,991 5,242 12,075 47,279 123,025
Idaho 698,912 653,158 45,754 6.5 28,091 8,380 6,600 2,683 27,110 7,950 23,289
Illinois 8,482,781 7,285,756 1,197,025 14.1 641,073 287,771 203,937 64,244 533,604 287,842 862,383
Indiana 4,086,634 3,892,459 194,175 4.8 126,271 45,239 20,706 1,959 67,998 28,030 96,432
Iowa 2,057,411 1,977,760 79,651 3.9 51,619 17,573 9,377 1,082 22,378 12,242 37,092
Kansas 1,815,572 1,709,004 106,568 5.9 67,044 22,972 13,914 2,638 48,118 19,099 54,876
Kentucky 2,729,678 2,663,259 66,419 2.4 44,471 13,361 7,795 792 22,247 6,483 22,378
Louisiana 2,990,696 2,648,084 342,612 11.5 231,133 77,612 29,400 4,467 56,826 51,089 175,160
Maine 918,628 823,073 95,555 10.4 70,451 19,096 5,606 402 4,527 11,080 52,018
Maryland 3,619,246 3,292,099 327,147 9.0 200,533 72,834 44,302 9,478 96,698 59,162 200,307
Massachusetts 4,665,040 3,956,340 708,700 15.2 410,358 158,317 102,781 37,244 165,787 156,297 482,541
Michigan 6,833,574 6,359,730 473,844 6.9 312,997 101,895 50,981 7,971 104,403 68,903 265,906
Minnesota 3,207,190 3,022,192 184,998 5.8 122,670 38,800 19,681 3,847 31,087 30,372 97,393
Mississippi 1,825,845 1,775,923 49,922 2.7 31,596 11,279 6,547 500 17,886 5,629 17,817
Missouri 3,801,603 3,657,124 144,479 3.8 93,771 32,221 16,900 1,587 45,768 19,964 63,301
Montana 576,278 545,640 30,638 5.3 21,283 6,893 2,352 110 6,372 3,133 12,405
Nebraska 1,149,198 1,090,582 58,616 5.1 39,687 11,745 6,369 815 18,886 7,884 28,872
Nevada 907,074 784,977 122,097 13.5 68,882 28,066 18,723 6,426 68,417 29,138 76,223
New Hampshire 830,129 749,894 80,235 9.7 58,012 15,657 5,833 733 7,430 9,704 41,237
New Jersey 5,931,524 4,771,171 1,160,353 19.6 627,630 280,823 187,480 64,420 481,105 265,269 846,010
New Mexico 1,068,630 669,350 399,280 37.4 273,439 80,448 33,380 12,013 315,674 61,580 266,439
New York 13,734,154 10,526,222 3,207,932 23.4 1,690,354 778,514 541,603 197,461 1,433,202 815,234 2,421,702
North Carolina 5,020,144 4,833,660 186,484 3.7 121,454 37,329 24,833 2,868 74,687 22,793 76,264
North Dakota 463,119 419,678 43,441 9.4 32,672 7,993 2,703 73 3,076 4,811 23,173
Ohio 8,043,319 7,597,760 445,559 5.5 292,264 101,563 46,785 4,947 101,309 68,810 238,133
Oklahoma 2,308,740 2,191,293 117,447 5.1 75,035 26,018 14,109 2,285 48,474 17,890 55,171
Oregon 2,117,914 1,962,980 154,934 7.3 89,941 32,860 24,086 8,047 63,764 30,737 88,481
Pennsylvania 9,084,701 8,414,028 670,673 7.4 427,451 152,435 75,180 15,607 155,057 113,557 386,061
Rhode Island 777,459 643,937 133,522 17.2 76,523 28,879 20,696 7,424 25,762 28,942 92,406
South Carolina 2,564,655 2,474,838 89,817 3.5 60,128 18,444 10,327 918 33,026 8,212 31,949
South Dakota 497,059 460,914 36,145 7.3 25,572 7,444 3,064 65 3,584 4,779 17,063
Tennessee 3,661,529 3,558,673 102,856 2.8 67,034 21,690 13,091 1,041 36,455 12,529 40,126
Texas 12,151,158 9,155,136 2,996,022 24.7 1,622,180 692,473 456,668 224,701 2,550,722 714,958 2,237,826
Utah 1,094,922 999,952 94,970 8.7 62,573 19,988 10,431 1,978 40,150 13,928 46,969
Vermont 419,178 391,981 27,197 6.5 20,724 4,293 2,050 130 2,630 2,708 12,507
Virginia 4,683,031 4,339,144 343,887 7.3 206,326 76,813 48,794 11,954 121,112 63,772 199,376
Washington 3,608,232 3,283,326 324,906 9.0 189,776 70,500 49,167 15,463 107,973 67,036 187,206
West Virginia 1,349,271 1,314,197 35,074 2.6 24,295 6,674 3,870 235 9,459 3,351 13,402
Wisconsin 3,601,035 3,388,568 212,467 5.9 138,491 45,701 24,118 4,157 53,773 33,476 112,715
Wyoming 318,507 298,638 19,869 6.2 13,721 3,938 2,073 137 11,338 2,318 8,794
* A linguistically isolated household is one in which no person 14 or older speaks English at least very well.
NOTE: 1990 Census language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" "What is this language?"
"How well does this person speak English --very well, well, not well, not at all?"
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, CPHL-96
Contact: Education and Social Stratification Branch, Population Division 301-457-2464
Table 3 Highlights
Percent of people 18 or over who speak English "Not well" or "Not at all"
- in the US 2.5%
- in Illinois 2.5%
One can clearly see from Tables 2 and 3 above that the youngest recent immigrants are learning English at a rapid rate.
Table 4 highlights the varieties of different languages spoken within the United States, but clearly one can see a clear trend: The United States between 1980 and 1990 remained largely an English only nation.
Table 4. Languages Spoken at Home by Persons 5 Years and Over, by State: 1990 Census
Population Total Percent Other French Portu- Spanish
5 years Only Non- Non- West Scandi- (and guese (and
and over English English English German Yiddish Germanic navian Greek Indic Italian Creoles) (& Creole Creoles) Polish
U.S. Total 230,445,777 198,600,798 31,844,979 13.8 1,547,987 213,064 232,461 198,904 388,260 555,126 1,308,648 1,930,404 430,610 17,345,064 723,483
Alabama 3,759,802 3,651,936 107,866 2.9 14,603 120 836 694 1,937 2,587 2,853 17,965 396 42,653 920
Alaska 495,425 435,260 60,165 12.1 3,342 12 249 776 212 273 289 2,030 262 10,020 377
Arizona 3,374,806 2,674,519 700,287 20.8 21,344 921 2,068 2,734 2,202 3,745 8,892 13,115 1,266 478,234 5,033
Arkansas 2,186,665 2,125,884 60,781 2.8 7,059 72 463 493 565 1,040 1,279 8,210 307 27,351 981
California 27,383,547 18,764,213 8,619,334 31.5 165,962 12,691 34,433 29,937 32,889 119,318 111,133 132,657 78,232 5,478,712 28,528
Colorado 3,042,986 2,722,355 320,631 10.5 30,460 704 1,727 2,694 2,226 2,054 5,656 12,855 727 203,896 2,937
Connecticut 3,060,000 2,593,825 466,175 15.2 17,344 2,188 1,849 4,224 10,554 8,287 71,309 53,586 24,936 167,007 40,306
Delaware 617,720 575,393 42,327 6.9 4,206 202 1,164 328 1,177 1,410 3,376 3,753 291 15,302 2,806
Dist. of Columbia 570,284 498,936 71,348 12.5 3,194 113 386 643 901 1,244 1,580 9,783 1,170 35,021 322
Florida 12,095,284 9,996,969 2,098,315 17.3 81,033 27,363 9,597 10,742 21,396 17,119 70,636 194,783 16,028 1,447,747 27,314
Georgia 5,984,188 5,699,642 284,546 4.8 29,480 572 1,905 1,587 3,399 9,785 4,686 34,422 1,795 122,295 1,999
Hawaii 1,026,209 771,485 254,724 24.8 4,066 56 528 482 177 591 949 3,921 1,110 13,729 94
Idaho 926,703 867,708 58,995 6.4 5,148 - 594 872 262 207 640 2,839 658 37,081 366
Illinois 10,585,838 9,086,726 1,499,112 14.2 84,625 6,751 5,517 10,815 42,976 49,995 66,903 43,070 2,781 728,380 143,480
Indiana 5,146,160 4,900,334 245,826 4.8 46,034 432 11,956 1,088 5,287 5,346 5,264 20,578 763 90,146 11,552
Iowa 2,583,526 2,483,135 100,391 3.9 21,429 231 3,833 4,579 1,157 1,620 1,929 7,941 275 31,620 890
Kansas 2,289,615 2,158,011 131,604 5.7 22,887 77 1,956 1,112 564 2,439 1,402 7,851 374 62,059 740
Kentucky 3,434,955 3,348,473 86,482 2.5 15,677 157 1,934 421 664 1,646 1,850 13,543 241 31,293 832
Louisiana 3,886,353 3,494,359 391,994 10.1 8,588 137 673 721 1,391 3,457 4,933 261,678 711 72,173 599
Maine 1,142,122 1,036,681 105,441 9.2 4,157 202 256 1,014 1,085 315 1,814 81,012 314 5,934 1,127
Maryland 4,425,285 4,030,234 395,051 8.9 26,454 3,660 3,441 1,818 13,146 20,096 15,980 39,484 5,161 122,871 8,282
Massachusetts 5,605,751 4,753,523 852,228 15.2 20,872 4,126 2,585 5,473 33,006 12,971 81,987 124,973 133,373 228,458 37,769
Michigan 8,594,737 8,024,930 569,807 6.6 57,328 2,550 13,772 3,696 13,431 14,916 38,023 39,794 1,700 137,490 64,527
Minnesota 4,038,861 3,811,700 227,161 5.6 45,409 843 2,024 25,758 1,351 3,227 2,870 13,693 806 42,362 5,755
Mississippi 2,378,805 2,312,289 66,516 2.8 6,563 27 439 266 440 1,560 1,401 13,215 274 25,061 173
Missouri 4,748,704 4,570,494 178,210 3.8 32,286 1,250 4,338 1,022 2,684 3,025 9,125 20,135 707 59,585 3,503
Montana 740,218 703,198 37,020 5.0 9,644 - 344 1,922 303 136 767 2,572 70 8,083 408
Nebraska 1,458,904 1,389,032 69,872 4.8 13,927 219 376 1,699 681 637 1,668 4,135 215 24,555 2,673
Nevada 1,110,450 964,298 146,152 13.2 8,457 515 528 742 1,313 1,115 5,335 5,464 919 85,474 1,365
New Hampshire 1,024,621 935,825 88,796 8.7 4,380 213 443 922 4,086 1,292 2,440 51,284 1,173 9,619 2,976
New Jersey 7,200,696 5,794,548 1,406,148 19.5 56,877 11,569 5,412 5,964 28,080 60,248 154,160 52,351 55,285 621,416 69,145
New Mexico 1,390,048 896,049 493,999 35.5 6,000 120 475 672 578 1,142 1,880 3,402 329 388,186 600
New York 16,743,048 12,834,328 3,908,720 23.3 128,525 117,323 11,747 14,353 87,608 87,574 400,218 236,099 33,089 1,848,825 120,923
North Carolina 6,172,301 5,931,435 240,866 3.9 24,689 316 1,430 1,300 5,354 6,992 4,801 37,590 1,659 105,963 2,179
North Dakota 590,839 543,942 46,897 7.9 24,453 15 175 7,112 49 222 106 1,998 77 4,296 791
Ohio 10,063,212 9,517,064 546,148 5.4 80,975 2,907 18,783 2,007 15,391 13,709 41,179 46,075 1,800 139,194 26,207
Oklahoma 2,921,755 2,775,957 145,798 5.0 15,195 71 971 853 662 2,440 2,022 8,328 375 64,562 796
Oregon 2,640,482 2,448,772 191,710 7.3 19,289 220 3,020 4,004 1,295 1,659 3,114 10,854 767 83,087 1,160
Pennsylvania 11,085,170 10,278,294 806,876 7.3 78,499 9,844 56,517 3,215 17,982 17,401 103,844 45,515 6,940 213,096 55,344
Rhode Island 936,423 776,931 159,492 17.0 2,636 494 275 791 1,853 1,022 20,619 31,669 39,947 35,492 3,835
South Carolina 3,231,539 3,118,376 113,163 3.5 14,053 193 961 578 2,940 2,912 2,735 22,339 752 44,427 813
South Dakota 641,226 599,232 41,994 6.5 17,537 17 665 2,509 144 94 210 1,228 44 5,033 178
Tennessee 4,544,743 4,413,193 131,550 2.9 17,716 251 1,544 697 1,598 3,598 2,501 20,444 611 49,661 1,415
Texas 15,605,822 11,635,518 3,970,304 25.4 90,659 1,270 5,346 4,661 6,422 37,065 10,871 64,585 4,251 3,443,106 11,242
Utah 1,553,351 1,432,947 120,404 7.8 11,233 57 2,650 3,169 1,886 808 2,446 6,684 1,871 51,945 595
Vermont 521,521 491,112 30,409 5.8 2,716 78 417 382 421 195 1,289 17,171 162 3,196 1,165
Virginia 5,746,419 5,327,898 418,521 7.3 32,069 641 3,012 2,710 7,453 17,117 9,567 40,353 3,240 152,663 3,286
Washington 4,501,879 4,098,706 403,173 9.0 39,011 386 3,930 13,626 2,959 4,739 6,305 19,883 1,565 143,647 3,355
West Virginia 1,686,932 1,642,729 44,203 2.6 5,280 37 283 199 946 1,353 4,691 7,695 217 13,337 1,336
Wisconsin 4,531,134 4,267,496 263,638 5.8 61,929 835 4,577 10,386 2,856 3,204 8,661 14,242 490 75,931 20,143
Wyoming 418,713 394,904 23,809 5.7 2,688 16 57 442 321 179 460 1,558 104 13,790 341
NOTE: Languages are grouped into 25 categories.
1990 Census language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" "What is this language?"
"How well does this person speak English --very well, well, not well, not at all?"
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, CPHL-96
Contact: Education and Social Stratification Branch, Population Division 301-457-2464
Table 4. Languages Spoken at Home by Persons 5 Years and Over, by State: 1990 Census (Continued)
Other Native
South Other Indo- Hung- Mon- North Viet- Other and
Russian Slavic Slavic European Arabic Tagalog Chinese arian Japanese Khmer Korean American namese Unspecified
U.S. Total 241,798 170,449 270,863 578,076 355,150 843,251 1,319,462 147,902 427,657 127,441 626,478 331,758 507,069 1,023,614
Alabama 307 163 396 1,208 2,069 1,019 3,728 203 2,480 435 3,232 301 2,231 4,530
Alaska 1,111 191 227 508 153 5,124 815 87 1,450 57 3,333 26,780 273 2,214
Arizona 1,153 2,364 2,650 3,938 3,531 4,188 9,536 1,893 3,362 769 4,829 110,559 4,186 7,775
Arkansas 161 180 623 543 815 894 1,387 184 1,083 75 1,112 553 1,701 3,650
California 44,978 21,731 15,037 231,654 73,738 464,644 575,447 21,186 147,451 59,622 215,845 8,966 233,074 281,469
Colorado 2,537 1,353 2,530 2,979 2,787 2,769 6,261 1,382 5,083 807 8,306 3,263 5,901 8,737
Connecticut 4,126 1,567 7,176 10,024 3,352 3,026 8,234 6,152 2,918 1,116 2,792 214 3,378 10,510
Delaware 233 96 662 813 585 602 1,805 281 424 42 932 31 382 1,424
Dist. of Columbia 706 148 254 1,880 1,947 1,424 2,506 281 781 79 664 124 569 5,628
Florida 5,707 5,291 10,428 18,342 16,246 19,618 20,839 12,099 7,485 1,185 9,299 2,562 13,648 31,808
Georgia 1,676 533 904 4,766 3,692 3,503 11,181 824 6,270 1,659 13,433 896 6,483 16,801
Hawaii 193 153 226 1,456 274 55,341 26,366 120 69,587 81 14,636 271 4,620 55,697
Idaho 150 91 474 441 221 441 1,029 152 1,287 50 550 2,327 528 2,587
Illinois 12,833 24,082 23,952 35,188 19,935 46,453 41,807 5,772 13,174 2,565 33,973 1,255 7,572 45,258
Indiana 1,560 7,091 3,334 3,466 2,998 2,367 6,017 2,999 4,722 243 3,693 529 2,112 6,249
Iowa 543 416 3,270 1,428 1,499 948 3,450 199 1,158 500 2,014 1,120 2,062 6,280
Kansas 893 1,228 1,094 1,493 1,833 1,375 4,272 144 1,416 576 3,221 1,014 5,625 5,959
Kentucky 623 230 343 1,155 1,659 1,098 2,596 293 2,306 174 2,676 416 1,491 3,164
Louisiana 425 666 440 1,408 2,419 2,214 4,727 576 1,385 187 2,607 495 14,352 5,032
Maine 386 67 298 1,142 231 608 709 117 553 772 562 1,000 691 1,075
Maryland 5,950 1,035 2,892 12,803 6,929 11,329 24,508 1,730 5,090 1,773 23,563 580 7,181 29,295
Massachusetts 12,101 899 3,198 26,248 13,128 3,800 43,248 1,799 6,849 12,178 7,935 732 12,655 21,865
Michigan 4,540 11,767 11,375 20,727 40,242 8,707 15,378 7,712 8,478 541 9,978 1,649 4,817 36,669
Minnesota 2,403 2,069 6,530 3,488 2,387 2,414 6,844 562 1,871 2,699 3,368 4,540 8,314 35,574
Mississippi 53 118 180 453 976 1,054 2,201 113 1,039 6 1,307 4,703 3,087 1,807
Missouri 1,593 1,427 1,425 2,886 2,528 3,254 7,018 809 3,324 572 4,145 763 3,599 7,207
Montana 185 457 333 288 119 256 487 88 609 6 283 8,207 211 1,242
Nebraska 425 265 6,944 1,425 787 786 1,622 47 822 149 1,141 1,327 1,075 2,272
Nevada 353 980 560 1,724 1,222 8,007 5,204 757 2,322 215 3,324 2,486 1,739 6,032
New Hampshire 591 72 327 1,438 798 575 1,520 260 465 259 995 120 187 2,361
New Jersey 14,824 9,757 22,642 21,658 24,384 38,107 47,334 16,590 14,272 486 30,712 721 4,892 39,262
New Mexico 170 256 397 991 728 1,017 1,686 214 1,134 37 1,173 79,087 1,144 2,581
New York 78,310 26,377 34,931 69,804 44,060 46,276 247,334 23,394 29,845 3,169 80,394 4,067 11,531 122,944
North Carolina 846 421 829 2,573 4,300 3,019 7,252 905 4,949 1,420 6,053 1,827 4,111 10,088
North Dakota 172 31 2,066 156 151 331 425 31 171 14 387 2,719 212 737
Ohio 5,659 21,948 22,170 12,040 14,816 6,328 15,475 18,219 9,058 1,932 8,515 762 3,997 17,002
Oklahoma 524 167 1,089 1,969 2,082 1,462 5,052 248 2,003 303 3,471 19,158 5,998 5,997
Oregon 5,325 861 1,904 4,525 2,258 3,391 10,099 681 6,724 2,036 5,574 1,615 7,468 10,780
Pennsylvania 13,929 11,936 40,540 16,241 10,887 7,605 24,857 9,789 5,570 4,232 18,116 569 12,843 21,565
Rhode Island 897 193 501 3,146 1,651 1,069 2,640 289 407 3,285 716 162 570 5,333
South Carolina 466 136 534 1,469 2,121 2,976 2,343 483 2,133 227 2,318 200 1,457 3,597
South Dakota 109 14 1,228 253 148 305 376 67 212 140 392 9,969 199 923
Tennessee 736 234 430 2,633 2,800 1,687 5,024 480 3,393 888 3,775 738 2,058 6,638
Texas 3,572 1,648 21,952 15,621 16,753 22,256 52,220 1,879 11,898 5,620 26,228 3,565 57,736 49,878
Utah 662 335 287 1,405 703 962 4,483 81 4,428 981 2,294 10,195 2,285 7,959
Vermont 251 72 249 225 117 187 453 131 289 12 144 60 137 890
Virginia 1,484 888 2,487 16,123 11,399 21,018 18,037 1,698 5,370 3,319 25,736 556 19,025 19,270
Washington 3,399 2,187 2,640 6,829 3,401 24,574 26,378 1,579 17,626 9,579 23,190 3,675 15,488 23,222
West Virginia 268 574 862 516 1,053 815 1,089 659 808 16 586 95 215 1,273
Wisconsin 1,641 5,462 4,949 4,457 2,178 1,830 5,762 1,572 1,884 344 2,788 2,581 1,899 23,037
Wyoming 59 222 94 130 60 198 401 92 239 9 168 1,654 60 467
NOTE: Languages are grouped into 25 categories.
1990 Census language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" "What is this language?"
"How well does this person speak English --very well, well, not well, not at all?"
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, CPHL-96
Contact: Education and Social Stratification Branch, Population Division 301-457-2464
Data on language, in the 25 groups shown in table 4, and data on ability to speak English are available in the census web page from "Summary Tape File 3" in "Census Lookup." The tables shown here are from 2 releases of data listings in the CPH-L series--from CPH- L-96 and CPH-L-133 "Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for United States, Regions and States: 1990." All of the tables on language in CPH-L-96 are included here. One table from CPH-L-133 is included. The complete listing contains all languages reported (up to 350 individual language categories) for each State by ability to speak English (68 pages of data).
Those data in Tables 1 through 4 illustrate that English is clearly the dominant language in America, without the aid of any legislation mandating its use.
Table 5 illustrates the rich variety of languages spoken within the country and the respondents self-reported level of English proficiency.
Table 5. Detailed Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for Persons 5 Years and Over
50 Languages with Greatest Number of Speakers: United States 1990
Ranked by Total Number of Speakers Ranked by Number Who Speak English Less Than "Very Well"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1990 1990
------ ENGLISH ABILITY ------------- RANK RANK
1990 VERY NOT NOT AT LESS THAN LESS THAN TOTAL
RANK LANGUAGE TOTAL WELL WELL WELL ALL "VERY WELL" LANGUAGE VERY WELL TOTAL SPEAKERS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UNITED STATES 230,445,777 UNITED STATES 230,445,777
ENGLISH ONLY 198,600,798 ENGLISH ONLY 198,600,798
TOTAL NONENGLISH 31,844,979 17,862,477 7,310,301 4,826,958 1,845,243 TOTAL NONENGLISH 13,982,502 31,844,979
1 SPANISH 17,339,172 9,033,407 3,804,792 3,040,828 1,460,145 1 SPANISH 8,305,765 17,339,172 1
2 FRENCH 1,702,176 1,226,043 318,409 149,505 8,219 2 CHINESE 752,936 1,249,213 5
3 GERMAN 1,547,099 1,161,127 284,809 96,804 4,359 3 FRENCH 476,133 1,702,176 2
4 ITALIAN 1,308,648 874,032 283,354 134,114 17,148 4 ITALIAN 434,616 1,308,648 4
5 CHINESE 1,249,213 496,277 379,720 264,240 108,976 5 GERMAN 385,972 1,547,099 3
6 TAGALOG 843,251 556,252 223,971 58,320 4,708 6 KOREAN 383,539 626,478 8
7 POLISH 723,483 455,551 169,548 85,298 13,086 7 VIETNAMESE 320,862 507,069 9
8 KOREAN 626,478 242,939 195,120 154,617 33,802 8 TAGALOG 286,999 843,251 6
9 VIETNAMESE 507,069 186,207 177,689 118,180 24,993 9 POLISH 267,932 723,483 7
10 PORTUGUESE 429,860 235,283 96,243 71,305 27,029 10 JAPANESE 224,460 427,657 11
11 JAPANESE 427,657 203,197 133,364 83,276 7,820 11 PORTUGUESE 194,577 429,860 10
12 GREEK 388,260 266,072 78,153 38,799 5,236 12 RUSSIAN 131,430 241,798 15
13 ARABIC 355,150 235,509 82,149 31,596 5,896 13 THAI (LAOTIAN) 128,020 206,266 17
14 HINDI (URDU) 331,484 234,705 67,276 24,365 5,138 14 GREEK 122,188 388,260 12
15 RUSSIAN 241,798 110,368 66,126 50,365 14,939 15 ARABIC 119,641 355,150 13
16 YIDDISH 213,064 151,377 44,213 15,431 2,043 16 FRENCH CREOLE 98,602 187,658 19
17 THAI (LAOTIAN) 206,266 78,246 70,177 47,374 10,469 17 HINDI (URDU) 96,779 331,484 14
18 PERSIAN 201,865 125,135 51,517 19,749 5,464 18 MON-KHMER (CAMBODIAN) 93,445 127,441 25
19 FRENCH CREOLE 187,658 89,056 56,730 35,710 6,162 19 PERSIAN 76,730 201,865 18
20 ARMENIAN 149,694 74,586 36,408 25,401 13,299 20 ARMENIAN 75,108 149,694 20
21 NAVAHO 148,530 82,261 44,481 14,172 7,616 21 NAVAHO 66,269 148,530 21
22 HUNGARIAN 147,902 96,200 37,875 12,691 1,136 22 MIAO (HMONG) 63,549 81,877 30
23 HEBREW 144,292 110,440 26,685 6,471 696 23 YIDDISH 61,687 213,064 16
24 DUTCH 142,684 108,936 27,888 5,470 390 24 HUNGARIAN 51,702 147,902 22
25 MON-KHMER (CAMBODIAN) 127,441 33,996 38,782 40,921 13,742 25 PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH 36,123 83,525 29
26 GUJARATHI 102,418 67,704 22,657 8,998 3,059 26 UKRAINIAN 35,619 96,568 27
27 UKRAINIAN 96,568 60,949 22,515 11,870 1,234 27 GUJARATHI 34,714 102,418 26
28 CZECH 92,485 65,336 21,435 5,422 292 28 HEBREW 33,852 144,292 23
29 PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH 83,525 47,402 31,310 4,112 701 29 DUTCH 33,748 142,684 24
30 MIAO (HMONG) 81,877 18,328 25,645 26,505 11,399 30 RUMANIAN 31,713 65,265 36
31 NORWEGIAN 80,723 63,681 12,706 4,174 162 31 SERBOCROATIAN 27,661 70,964 34
32 SLOVAK 80,388 58,311 16,322 5,503 252 32 CZECH 27,149 92,485 28
33 SWEDISH 77,511 62,724 11,364 3,234 189 33 FORMOSAN 25,253 46,044 40
34 SERBOCROATIAN 70,964 43,303 18,149 8,365 1,147 34 ILOCANO 22,934 41,131 43
35 KRU 65,848 53,563 10,630 1,511 144 35 SLOVAK 22,077 80,388 32
36 RUMANIAN 65,265 33,552 20,332 8,922 2,459 36 PANJABI 18,168 50,005 39
37 LITHUANIAN 55,781 38,775 11,930 4,820 256 37 NORWEGIAN 17,042 80,723 31
38 FINNISH 54,350 40,996 10,230 3,001 123 38 LITHUANIAN 17,006 55,781 37
39 PANJABI 50,005 31,837 10,448 5,616 2,104 39 TURKISH 16,192 41,876 42
40 FORMOSAN 46,044 20,791 15,562 7,712 1,979 40 CROATIAN 15,217 45,206 41
41 CROATIAN 45,206 29,989 10,964 3,912 341 41 SWEDISH 14,787 77,511 33
42 TURKISH 41,876 25,684 10,515 4,653 1,024 42 SYRIAC 14,510 35,146 46
43 ILOCANO 41,131 18,197 14,770 7,354 810 43 INDONESIAN 13,435 24,996 54
44 BENGALI 38,101 25,417 9,808 2,578 298 44 FINNISH 13,354 54,350 38
45 DANISH 35,639 29,665 4,771 1,135 68 45 AMHARIC 12,862 31,505 50
46 SYRIAC 35,146 20,636 9,106 3,956 1,448 46 MALAYALAM 12,818 33,949 48
47 SAMOAN 34,914 23,660 7,712 3,129 413 47 BENGALI 12,684 38,101 44
48 MALAYALAM 33,949 21,131 10,093 2,006 719 48 KRU 12,285 65,848 35
49 CAJUN 33,670 23,834 7,577 2,073 186 49 MANDARIN 11,751 23,114 56
50 AMHARIC 31,505 18,643 9,359 3,078 425 50 SAMOAN 11,254 34,914 47
NOTE: 1990 Census language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" "What is this language?"
"How well does this person speak English --very well, well, not well, not at all?"
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, CPHL-133
Contact: Education and Social Stratification Branch, Population Division 301-457-2464
Table 5 Highlights
- Percent who are non-English speakers 13.8%
- Percent who speak Spanish 7.5%, and percent who speak Spanish only 0.6% (or about one half of 1%)
- Total percent of population who speak
Arabic 355,150 Hindi 331,484 Persian 207,865 Punjabi 50,005 TOTAL 944,504or 0.4% of the total US population in 1990.Immigrants at the turn of the 20th century (Jews, Italians, and Slavs) also encountered such invidious comparisons: in 1911, a federal Immigration Commission accused them of failing to learn English as rapidly as the Germans, Irish, and Scandinavians who came before them. In fact, immigrants' rates of Anglicization have increased throughout U.S. history. Today they are higher than ever before.
In the 1890 census there were 4.5 times as many non-English speakers, proportionally speaking, than in the 1990 census (despite its superior ability to count such groups). A century ago there were sizable enclaves in the Southwest, Louisiana, the upper Midwest, and New England, where colonial, immigrant, and indigenous languages predominated – far larger than their counterparts today. (See Table 6.)
|
Table 6: Percentage of Non-English-Speaking Persons, 1890 and 1990 |
|||
|
|
1890* |
1990† |
Ratio |
|
U.S. population |
3.62 |
0.80 |
4.5: 1 |
|
New Mexico |
65.11 |
0.92 |
71: 1 |
|
Arizona |
28.23 |
1.10 |
26: 1 |
|
Wisconsin |
11.37 |
0.11 |
103: 1 |
|
Milwaukee |
19.72 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Louisiana |
8.37 |
0.12 |
70: 1 |
|
California |
8.26 |
2.93 |
3: 1 |
|
New Hampshire |
5.67 |
0.08 |
71: 1 |
|
Manchester |
17.31 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Foreign-born whites |
15.60 |
n/a |
n/a |
*Inability to speak English, persons aged 10years and above.
†Speaks English "not at all," persons aged 5 years and above.
Sources: U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office, Compendium
of the Eleventh Census: 1890, Part III (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1897), pp. 348-53; U.S. Census Bureau, "Language
Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for United States,
Regions, and States: 1990" (1990 CPH-L-133).
The rate of linguistic assimilation is clearly accelerating, a phenomenon that can be seen even in the relatively brief span of the 1980s. Unfortunately, a wide variety of language questions were asked in censuses between 1900 and 1970; thus comparable data are unavailable for those years. It should also be noted that the latest language figures have significant limitations – especially the reliance on self-reports, which are inevitably subjective.
Fortunately, identical language questions were asked in 1980 and 1990; so language trends among immigrants can be plotted, as shown in Table 7. From these data three things are clear:
- The number of minority language speakers is growing rapidly.
- The number of proficient bilinguals is growing even more rapidly.
- There is a direct relationship between English proficiency and length of residence in the U.S.
|
Table 7: Language Patterns of Immigrants, by Length of U.S. Residence, 1980 and 1990 (000s) |
|||||
|
|
1980 |
% |
1990 |
% |
Change |
|
Population, age 5+ |
210,247,555 |
100.0 |
230,445,777 |
100.0 |
+9.6% |
|
Native-born |
196,388 |
93.4 |
210,940 |
91.5 |
+7.4% |
|
Foreign-born |
13,860 |
6.6 |
19,506 |
8.5 |
+40.7% |
|
Recent Immigrants |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ten years or less in U.S. |
5,340 |
100.0 |
8,403 |
100.0 |
+57.4% |
|
Speak only English at home |
868 |
16.3 |
1,010 |
12.0 |
+16.4% |
|
Speak other language at home |
4,471 |
83.7 |
7,393 |
88.0 |
+65.4% |
|
No difficulty with English* |
2,198 |
41.2 |
4,399 |
52.4 |
+100.1% |
|
Earlier Immigrants |
|
|
|
|
|
|
More than 10 years in U.S. |
8,520 |
100.0 |
11,104 |
100.0 |
+30.3% |
|
Speak only English at home |
3,262 |
38.3 |
3,066 |
27.6 |
-6.0% |
|
Speak other language at home |
5,258 |
61.7 |
8,037 |
72.4 |
+52.9% |
|
No difficulty with English* |
5,734 |
67.3 |
6,978 |
62.8 |
+21.7% |
*Includes all foreign-born who speak only English at home or speak English "very well."
Source: Dorothy Waggoner, "Are Current Home Speakers of Non-English Languages Learning English?" Numbers and Needs 5, no. 6 (Nov. 1995): 1, 3. (This newsletter on language and demography is available from Box G1H/B, 3900 Watson Place, N.W., Washington, DC 20016.)
A new release of Census data always seems to bring out the alarmists, zealots, xenophobes, and language restrictionists. When the 1990 Census reported a U.S. language-minority population of nearly 32 million, it set off predictions of demographic doom. English-only advocates in Congress began trumpeting the news that 32 million Americans were unable, or unwilling, to speak the national language. What was the country coming to? Shouldn't it act quickly to ensure "the legal protection of English" before Babel engulfed us all?
In reality, the 1990 Census showed that a healthy majority of the 32 million were fluent bilinguals. Less than 3 percent of U.S. residents spoke English "not well" or "not at all." While the percentage of Americans who spoke another language at home was indeed expanding, so was the percentage of language minorities who spoke English "very well"; the growth rates were nearly identical.
Results from the 2000 Census Supplementary Survey – a preview of the 2000 Census – showed similar trends over the last decade, and generated similar kinds of hysteria. This time the scaremongers included the Washington Post, which editorialized darkly about a nation where "nearly one in five Americans do not speak English at home" – although this was not exactly what the Census surveyed. Even more "shameful," in the Post's view, was the finding that "only two-thirds of school-age children in Spanish-speaking homes describe themselves as speaking English very well." It reasoned that, since "children pick up languages with relative ease, and the school system ought to be able to deliver near universal fluency," then bilingual education must be to blame.
What do Census 2000 data reveal about language patterns over the past decade?
For anyone who has been paying attention since the 1980s, there are no stunning revelations. Table 8, which summarizes language data for U.S. residents, ages 5 and up, shows a clear continuation of trends evident in the 1990 Census:
- The number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English at home – though not necessarily to the exclusion of English, as the Washington Post assumes – increased by 41 percent during the 1990s. The rate is up slightly from the 38 percent increase recorded in the 1980s.
- The number of minority language speakers who also speak English "very well" increased at comparable rates: 42 percent in the 1990s, 39 percent in the 1980s.
- During the 1990s, speakers of home languages other than English grew at 7 times the rate of English-only speakers; during the 1980s, the ratio was 6 to 1.
- Expansion of the language-minority population continues to be closely correlated with immigration levels. The foreign-born population grew by 54 percent in the 1990s, up from 40 percent in the 1980s.
- Nearly 44 percent of the foreign-born population in 2000 had arrived in the United States during the past 10 years, the same percentage reported in 1990.
During the 1990s, speakers of home languages other than English grew at 7 times the rate of English-only speakers; during the 1980s, the ratio was 6 to 1. Expansion of the language-minority population continues to be closely correlated with immigration levels. The foreign-born population grew by 54 percent in the 1990s, up from 40 percent in the 1980s. Nearly 44 percent of the foreign-born population in 2000 had arrived in the United States during the past 10 years, the same percentage reported in 1990. In other words, over the past 20 years, the population of fluent bilinguals has been increasing at about the same rate as the population that speaks languages other than English.
Among younger language minorities, fluent bilinguals appeared to increase even faster in the 1990s. Table 9 summarizes these data for ages 5-17:
- School-age children who speak languages other than English at home increased by 55 percent over the decade.
- Those reporting some "difficulty" with English increased by only 25 percent.
- Those who speak English "very well" increased by 73 percent.
Contrary to what the Washington Post insinuates, these children are learning English at impressive rates, historically speaking.
About 60% of U.S. language minorities now speak Spanish at home. As Table 9 shows, Spanish speakers have increased more rapidly than the overall language-minority population since 1980. Again, the growth in fluent bilinguals is more than keeping pace with the growth in the Spanish-speaking population.
Table 7: Language Spoken at Home and Self-Reported English-Speaking Ability,
U.S. Residents, Age 5 and Older – 1980, 1990, and 2000
1980
%
1990
%
Change in 1980s
2000
%
Change in 1990s
All speakers,
age 5+210,247,455
100.0
230,445,777