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 | 517,784 | 89.85% | 520,486 | 85.54% |
| Spanish | 8,623 | 1.50% | 12,287 | 2.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 33,593 | 5.83% | 42,325 | 6.96% |
| Asian Language** | 12,348 | 2.14% | 26,974 | 4.43% |
| Other | 3,945 | 0.68% | 6,416 | 1.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 576,293 | 100.00% | 608,488 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,407 | 27.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12,756 | 30.14% |
| Asian Language** | 14,018 | 51.97% |
| Other Language | 1,511 | 23.55% |
| Total | 31,692 | 5.21% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,885 | 33.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,402 | 30.96% |
| Asian Language** | 7,041 | 57.02% |
| Other Language | 946 | 23.98% |
| Total | 21,274 | 3.69% |
* "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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