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 | 351,063 | 95.61% | 365,326 | 95.85% |
| Spanish | 3,309 | 0.90% | 5,021 | 1.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,117 | 3.03% | 8,844 | 2.32% |
| Asian Language** | 834 | 0.23% | 1,216 | 0.32% |
| Other | 873 | 0.24% | 750 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 367,196 | 100.00% | 381,157 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,687 | 33.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,274 | 25.71% |
| Asian Language** | 485 | 39.88% |
| Other Language | 193 | 25.73% |
| Total | 4,639 | 1.22% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,044 | 31.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,260 | 29.32% |
| Asian Language** | 284 | 34.05% |
| Other Language | 258 | 29.55% |
| Total | 4,846 | 1.32% |
* "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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