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 | 408,344 | 91.35% | 400,823 | 84.20% |
| Spanish | 7,334 | 1.64% | 20,356 | 4.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12,422 | 2.78% | 12,108 | 2.54% |
| Asian Language** | 16,791 | 3.76% | 36,415 | 7.65% |
| Other | 2,110 | 0.47% | 6,312 | 1.33% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 447,001 | 100.00% | 476,014 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 9,643 | 47.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,091 | 25.53% |
| Asian Language** | 21,527 | 59.12% |
| Other Language | 2,654 | 42.05% |
| Total | 36,915 | 7.76% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,494 | 34.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,247 | 26.14% |
| Asian Language** | 11,759 | 70.03% |
| Other Language | 672 | 31.85% |
| Total | 18,172 | 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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