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 | 212,088 | 93.91% | 243,626 | 93.97% |
| Spanish | 2,419 | 1.07% | 3,452 | 1.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9,664 | 4.28% | 9,621 | 3.71% |
| Asian Language** | 1,192 | 0.53% | 1,876 | 0.72% |
| Other | 486 | 0.22% | 692 | 0.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 225,849 | 100.00% | 259,267 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,084 | 31.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,183 | 22.69% |
| Asian Language** | 798 | 42.54% |
| Other Language | 128 | 18.50% |
| Total | 4,193 | 1.62% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 636 | 26.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,200 | 22.76% |
| Asian Language** | 661 | 55.45% |
| Other Language | 175 | 36.01% |
| Total | 3,672 | 1.63% |
* "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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