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 | 435,260 | 87.86% | 496,982 | 85.72% |
| Spanish | 10,020 | 2.02% | 16,674 | 2.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9,859 | 1.99% | 12,851 | 2.22% |
| Asian Language** | 12,690 | 2.56% | 22,186 | 3.83% |
| Other | 27,596 | 5.57% | 31,047 | 5.36% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 495,425 | 100.00% | 579,740 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,801 | 34.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,667 | 28.53% |
| Asian Language** | 11,659 | 52.55% |
| Other Language | 9,715 | 31.29% |
| Total | 30,842 | 5.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,234 | 32.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,560 | 25.97% |
| Asian Language** | 6,447 | 50.80% |
| Other Language | 10,239 | 37.10% |
| Total | 22,480 | 4.54% |
* "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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