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 | 373,189 | 94.35% | 423,447 | 92.66% |
| Spanish | 6,927 | 1.75% | 12,717 | 2.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9,610 | 2.43% | 11,860 | 2.60% |
| Asian Language** | 5,126 | 1.30% | 7,517 | 1.64% |
| Other | 689 | 0.17% | 1,428 | 0.31% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 395,541 | 100.00% | 456,969 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,857 | 38.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,619 | 22.08% |
| Asian Language** | 3,666 | 48.77% |
| Other Language | 274 | 19.19% |
| Total | 11,416 | 2.50% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,158 | 31.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,484 | 25.85% |
| Asian Language** | 2,516 | 49.08% |
| Other Language | 157 | 22.79% |
| Total | 7,315 | 1.85% |
* "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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