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 | 240,032 | 91.86% | 234,888 | 89.72% |
| Spanish | 7,984 | 3.06% | 9,897 | 3.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,586 | 2.52% | 7,920 | 3.03% |
| Asian Language** | 4,806 | 1.84% | 6,886 | 2.63% |
| Other | 1,895 | 0.73% | 2,199 | 0.84% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 261,303 | 100.00% | 261,790 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,205 | 32.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,491 | 31.45% |
| Asian Language** | 3,746 | 54.40% |
| Other Language | 700 | 31.83% |
| Total | 10,142 | 3.87% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,480 | 31.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,756 | 26.66% |
| Asian Language** | 2,605 | 54.20% |
| Other Language | 440 | 23.22% |
| Total | 7,281 | 2.79% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy