New Census report highlights use of Spanish in United States

A new analysis of information gathered during the 2000 U.S. Census shows that nearly one out of five Americans speak a language other than English at home — and the vast majority of them speak Spanish. But that doesn't mean that English is on its way out, at least in the country as a whole; about half of those who speak Spanish at home say they also speak English very well, and many of the others speak English but less than fluently. In total, 92 percent of Americans say they speak English very well.
 
According to the analysis, some 47 million Americans speak a language other than English at home. That is an increase of 15 million people since 1990. Spanish speakers increased from 17.3 million in 1990 to 28.1 million in 2000, a 62 percent rise.
 
The report indicates that while Spanish speakers are spread throughout the country, they are concentrated in California, Texas and Florida. The city with the highest concentration of Spanish speakers is Hiahleah, Fla., where 92 percent of the residents speak Spanish at home. Close behind is Laredo, Texas, with 91 percent.
 
The major city with the highest proportion of Spanish speakers is Miami, where two-thirds (67 percent) speak Spanish at home; a full three-quarters (75 percent) of Miami residents speak a language other than English at home.
 
Other highlights of the report:

• The West was home to more than one-third (37 percent) of all those who spoke a language other than English at home, the highest proportion of any region. California led the states (39 percent), followed by New Mexico (37 percent) and Texas (31 percent).
• The number of people who spoke a non-English language at home at least doubled in six states between 1990 and 2000, with the largest percentage increase in Nevada (193 percent). Georgia's residents who spoke a non-English language at home increased by 164 percent, followed by North Carolina (151 percent).
• After English (215.4 million) and Spanish (28.1 million), Chinese (2 million) was the language most commonly spoken at home, eclipsing French, German and Italian over the 1990s.
• Of the 20 non-English languages spoken most widely at home, the largest proportional increase in the 1990s was Russian. Speakers of this language nearly tripled, from 242,000 to 706,000. The second largest increase was among French Creole speakers (including Haitian Creoles), whose numbers more than doubled, from 188,000 to 453,000.
• The West and South combined had about three times the number of Spanish speakers (21 million) as the Northeast and Midwest combined (7 million).
• More than 80 percent of the population spoke a non-English language in seven Texas counties — Maverick, Webb, Starr, Kenedy, Zavala, Presidio and Hidalgo.

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