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 | 266,335 | 97.31% | 296,700 | 92.78% |
| Spanish | 3,105 | 1.13% | 13,589 | 4.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,004 | 1.10% | 2,813 | 0.88% |
| Asian Language** | 1,120 | 0.41% | 6,355 | 1.99% |
| Other | 127 | 0.05% | 328 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 273,691 | 100.00% | 319,785 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,225 | 60.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 866 | 30.79% |
| Asian Language** | 3,620 | 56.96% |
| Other Language | 125 | 38.11% |
| Total | 12,836 | 4.01% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,327 | 42.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 996 | 33.16% |
| Asian Language** | 668 | 59.64% |
| Other Language | 45 | 35.43% |
| Total | 3,036 | 1.11% |
* "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).
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