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 | 390,093 | 88.31% | 389,523 | 86.54% |
| Spanish | 28,998 | 6.56% | 39,105 | 8.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 19,682 | 4.46% | 17,632 | 3.92% |
| Asian Language** | 1,176 | 0.27% | 2,106 | 0.47% |
| Other | 1,792 | 0.41% | 1,749 | 0.39% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 441,741 | 100.00% | 450,115 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 15,091 | 38.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,417 | 30.72% |
| Asian Language** | 895 | 42.50% |
| Other Language | 537 | 30.70% |
| Total | 21,940 | 4.87% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,386 | 35.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,617 | 33.62% |
| Asian Language** | 457 | 38.86% |
| Other Language | 527 | 29.41% |
| Total | 17,987 | 4.07% |
* "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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