The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 877,328 | 83.70% | 875,725 | 81.35% |
| Spanish | 61,358 | 5.85% | 89,858 | 8.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 96,320 | 9.19% | 91,362 | 8.49% |
| Asian Language** | 9,074 | 0.87% | 15,054 | 1.40% |
| Other | 4,068 | 0.39% | 4,556 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 1,048,148 | 100.00% | 1,076,555 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 35,952 | 40.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 33,183 | 36.32% |
| Asian Language** | 7,906 | 52.52% |
| Other Language | 1,238 | 27.17% |
| Total | 78,279 | 7.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 29,462 | 48.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 34,819 | 36.15% |
| Asian Language** | 5,006 | 55.17% |
| Other Language | 1,074 | 26.40% |
| Total | 70,361 | 6.71% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy