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 | 327,166 | 95.52% | 338,958 | 95.75% |
| Spanish | 3,010 | 0.88% | 4,747 | 1.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,669 | 3.11% | 8,387 | 2.37% |
| Asian Language** | 812 | 0.24% | 1,176 | 0.33% |
| Other | 869 | 0.25% | 742 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 342,526 | 100.00% | 354,010 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,577 | 33.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,139 | 25.50% |
| Asian Language** | 475 | 40.39% |
| Other Language | 191 | 25.74% |
| Total | 4,382 | 1.24% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 979 | 32.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,119 | 29.23% |
| Asian Language** | 281 | 34.61% |
| Other Language | 258 | 29.69% |
| Total | 4,637 | 1.35% |
* "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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