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 | 1,355,181 | 96.36% | 1,460,251 | 95.43% |
| Spanish | 14,688 | 1.04% | 24,323 | 1.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 27,327 | 1.94% | 29,433 | 1.92% |
| Asian Language** | 6,593 | 0.47% | 11,833 | 0.77% |
| Other | 2,652 | 0.19% | 4,402 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 1,406,441 | 100.00% | 1,530,242 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,909 | 36.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,364 | 28.42% |
| Asian Language** | 5,502 | 46.50% |
| Other Language | 993 | 22.56% |
| Total | 23,768 | 1.55% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,015 | 34.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,524 | 27.53% |
| Asian Language** | 3,090 | 46.87% |
| Other Language | 710 | 26.77% |
| Total | 16,339 | 1.16% |
* "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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