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 | 398,909 | 93.57% | 395,364 | 93.24% |
| Spanish | 9,042 | 2.12% | 12,077 | 2.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,360 | 2.66% | 9,552 | 2.25% |
| Asian Language** | 3,230 | 0.76% | 3,506 | 0.83% |
| Other | 3,771 | 0.88% | 3,544 | 0.84% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 426,312 | 100.00% | 424,043 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,038 | 33.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,382 | 24.94% |
| Asian Language** | 1,634 | 46.61% |
| Other Language | 1,033 | 29.15% |
| Total | 9,087 | 2.14% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,792 | 30.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,116 | 27.43% |
| Asian Language** | 1,536 | 47.55% |
| Other Language | 1,062 | 28.16% |
| Total | 8,506 | 2.00% |
* "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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