Santa Ana No. 1 in Spanish
Population: Census Bureau says 74% of city's residents speak the
language, highest in the nation. Anaheim, L.A., Riverside also in top
10.
By NITA LELYVELD, LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF WRITER
NOVEMBER 20, 2001
Santa Ana has the highest concentration of Spanish-speaking
residents in the nation, with about 15% of those 18 to 64 speaking
no English--nearly four times the California average, according to
Census Bureau estimates released today.
Spanish is so much a part of life in Santa Ana that 74% of the
city's residents speak it, according to the government's
Supplementary Survey, a detailed 40-question form sent out last
year to 700,000 households in 1,203 U.S. counties.
Anaheim comes in fourth, with 42.8% of its population speaking
Spanish at home, behind El Paso (69.5%) and Miami (66%). Los
Angeles, at 42.2%, is fifth. Riverside has the nation's eighth-
highest percentage of Spanish speakers, at 33.2%. The national
average is 10.5%. California has the highest percentage of people
who speak languages other than English, 39%, according to the
survey. New Mexico comes in second, with 35.5%, followed by Texas
with 32%. The national average is 17.6%.
America's most English-dependent state is West Virginia, where
only 2.2% of residents speak another language.
Because the sample is relatively small, some city or state
rankings fall within the statistical margin of error.
The Census Bureau tested the Supplementary Survey for the first
time in 2000. The agency is asking Congress for funds to repeat it
each year starting in 2003, to provide a constantly updated version
of the sort of social, demographic, economic and housing information
now gathered only once a decade in the census long form. Long-form
data on language use from Census 2000 are still being processed.
When all languages are counted, 83.6% of Santa Ana's population
speaks a language other than English--another nationwide high,
according to the survey. Eight percent of Santa Ana residents
speak an Asian or Pacific Island language, a reflection of a
growing Vietnamese population.
The concentration of Spanish speakers without English skills may
be particularly high in Santa Ana because so many of its Mexican
immigrants are males who arrive alone, said Nativo Lopez,
executive director of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional of Santa Ana,
a Latino civil rights organization.
"There are multiple tenants occupying small apartments. Because
the rents are relatively high, they live together," Lopez said.
"The language of discourse is their first language. They're not
around people speaking English."
Once immigrants decide to stay in Santa Ana, they bring their
families and often take language classes, he said.
In all, 14,000 people are enrolled in English as a second
language classes, offered at more than 95 sites in the city,
said Rita Cepeda, president of Santa Ana College, which helps
run the courses.
When immigrants' families arrive and their children enroll in
school, language skills often improve, said Lopez, who also is
a school board member. Parents learn from their children and find
out about the language classes.
All but one member of the city's school board is Latino, Lopez
said. It helps, he said, in a school district known for having the
highest percentage of non-English speaking students in the state.
Board meetings include translation services--allowing those without
English to ask questions and hear debate.
The City Council, which has three Latino representatives, holds
meetings in English only, with no translation services. For more
than a decade, Latino activists have been trying to change that.
"The thing is, about half the people here are not citizens.
Latinos aren't the majority of the voters. They cannot make their
numbers felt at the polling place," Lopez said. "The city has
changed forever. You don't need a census count to realize that.
But a lot of people here--people in power--still refuse to
recognize it."
Languages by City - According to recent Census Bureau estimates, more
than three-quarters of Santa Ana's residents speak Spanish. Nearly a
quarter of San Francisco's populace speaks an Asian language.
Language spoken by adults age 18 to 64:
English Spanish Asian/Pacific Other City Only Island -------------------------------------------------------------------- Santa Ana 15% 76% 8% 1% Los Angeles 41 42 9 8 Anaheim 44 43 8 5 San Jose 50 21 23 6 San Francisco 58 11 24 7 Long Beach 58 26 14 2 Fresno 59 32 7 2 CALIFORNIA(state) 60 26 9 5 Riverside 60 33 6 1 San Diego 61 23 13 3 Oakland 66 18 11 5 Sacramento 72 12 9 7 UNITED STATES 82 11 3 4 (Source:Census 2000 Supplementary Survey / Los Angeles Times)