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April 23, 2003
Tower Of Babel - USA?
In
Alien Nation, Peter Brimelow pointed out
that in 1990 the Bureau of the Census had reported -
for the first time, because the phenomenon was
previously unknown - the existence of a significant
number of native-born Americans over the age of five
who did not speak English “very well.”
Brimelow argued this showed that the post-1965
immigration influx was
overwhelming the U.S.
assimilative mechanism, resulting in
foreign-language enclaves.
The 2000 Census shows that this trend is
continuing.
The table below
divides the U.S. population, aged 5 and more years, into
two groups:
 | native born (defined as individuals born in the
U.S. or born abroad of American parents); and |
| foreign born (i.e., all others). |
Respondents who fill out the “long form” questionnaire
are asked if they spoke a language other than English at
home. If they did, they were asked to state whether they
spoke English “Very Well,” “Well,” “Not Well,” or “Not
At All.”
The native-born population over five years of age who
did not speak English “very well” rose 40% during the
1990s, reaching 5.6 million.
Language Spoken At Home and Ability to Speak English[Spreadsheet]
U.S. Residents
Aged 5 and Older
(Millions)
| |
1990 |
2000 |
% Increase |
| Total Population |
230.5 |
262.4 |
13.8% |
|
Speaks Language
Other Than English
|
31.8 |
47.0 |
47.8% |
Speaks English “Less than very well” |
14.0 |
21.3 |
52.1% |
| Native Born |
210.7 |
231.7 |
10.0% |
Speaks Language
Other Than English |
16.2 |
21.5 |
32.7% |
Speaks English “Less than very well” |
4.0 |
5.6 |
40.0% |
| Foreign Born |
19.8 |
30.7 |
55.1% |
Speaks Language
Other Than English |
15.6 |
25.5 |
63.5% |
Speaks English “Less than very well” |
10.0 |
15.7 |
57.0% |
Other points to note:
|
Deterioration in the foreign-born population’s
use of English. The foreign-born increased 57%
during the 1990s, reaching 31.1 million in 2000. Of
these, 83% reported speaking a language other than English
at home - an increase of 63.5%. |
| No progress in foreign-born proficiency in
English. The number of foreign-born who speak English
“Less than very well” increased by 57% between 1990
and 2000. This group accounted for 51.1% of the
foreign born in 2000, actually up from 50.5% in 1990. |
| Increase in the proportion of U.S. residents
speaking foreign languages at home. In 2000, 47
million U.S. residents – 17.9% of the total population
- spoke a language other than English at home. This
was an increase of 74.8% since 1990. |
| Increase in the proportion of the American-born
population speaking a foreign language at home. Some
21.5 million native-born Americans – 9.7% of the total
population – spoke a language other than English in
the home. This was an increase of 32.7%. |
Of course, many of
these American-born users of foreign languages at home
are, or claim to be, proficient in English also.
But, increasingly,
they just
choose not to use it.
Why should they? You
think this is
America or something?
Edwin S. Rubenstein (email
him) is President of
ESR Research Economic Consultants in Indianapolis. |
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