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 | 233,761 | 96.59% | 227,785 | 95.50% |
| Spanish | 3,132 | 1.29% | 5,138 | 2.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,898 | 1.61% | 3,598 | 1.51% |
| Asian Language** | 961 | 0.40% | 1,596 | 0.67% |
| Other | 274 | 0.11% | 392 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 242,026 | 100.00% | 238,509 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,114 | 41.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 853 | 23.71% |
| Asian Language** | 682 | 42.73% |
| Other Language | 136 | 34.69% |
| Total | 3,785 | 1.59% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 970 | 30.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 977 | 25.06% |
| Asian Language** | 381 | 39.65% |
| Other Language | 10 | 3.65% |
| Total | 2,338 | 0.97% |
* "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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