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 | 214,530 | 96.52% | 260,104 | 94.34% |
| Spanish | 1,640 | 0.74% | 4,623 | 1.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,046 | 1.82% | 6,266 | 2.27% |
| Asian Language** | 1,615 | 0.73% | 3,005 | 1.09% |
| Other | 435 | 0.20% | 1,718 | 0.62% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 222,266 | 100.00% | 275,716 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,877 | 40.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,965 | 31.36% |
| Asian Language** | 1,724 | 57.37% |
| Other Language | 517 | 30.09% |
| Total | 6,083 | 2.21% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 460 | 28.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,132 | 27.98% |
| Asian Language** | 871 | 53.93% |
| Other Language | 108 | 24.83% |
| Total | 2,571 | 1.16% |
* "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