U.S. 2000 Census Places Majority of Marshallese Speakers Still in Hawai'i

In 2000, there were twice as many Marshallese language speakers in Hawai'i than other states according to data recently released by the United States Census. The tabulation, "Detailed Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over," identified 2,215 Hawai'i residents who spoke Marshallese at home. In Arkansas, there were an estimated 725, and in California, 645. The counties with the highest concentration of Marshallese speakers were Honolulu County (1,410), Hawai'i County (495), and Maui County (310). On the US mainland, Washington County, Arkansas, led with 570 . Orange County, California, followed with 350.

In the U.S., an estimated 5,655 respondents spoke primarily Marshallese at home, according to the report. This census tabulation, released July 25, differs from immigrant population estimates, which place the number of Marshallese-speaking migrants at 6,000 and upwards. The data also placed most other Marshallese speakers in the West and Mid-west. Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Utah, each had over one-hundred. The states with under one-hundred were Nevada, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Illinois and New York.

The special tabulation on the number of people 5 years old and over by "detailed language spoken at home" provides summary of national, state, county and census tract levels. Languages are shown for each geographic area only if there are 3 unweighted speakers of a given language group in different households.

The data is based on the 2000 "Language Use, English Ability, and Linguistic Isolation," a decennial collection. The data contained in this report are based on the sample of households who responded to the Census 2000 long form. Nationally, approximately 1 out of every 6 housing units was included in this sample.

According to Census material, estimates may differ from the 100-percent figures that would have been obtained if all housing units, people within those housing units, and people living in group quarters had been enumerated.

The report found that forty-seven million U.S. residents age 5 and older speak a language at home other than English.

Compiled by Aenet Rowa, Yokwe Online, July 19, 2004