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 | 224,572 | 93.53% | 236,064 | 92.66% |
| Spanish | 7,006 | 2.92% | 9,664 | 3.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,865 | 2.44% | 5,794 | 2.27% |
| Asian Language** | 2,365 | 0.98% | 2,827 | 1.11% |
| Other | 300 | 0.12% | 421 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 240,108 | 100.00% | 254,770 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,350 | 34.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,575 | 27.18% |
| Asian Language** | 1,263 | 44.68% |
| Other Language | 114 | 27.08% |
| Total | 6,302 | 2.47% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,346 | 33.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,487 | 25.35% |
| Asian Language** | 1,152 | 48.71% |
| Other Language | 83 | 27.67% |
| Total | 5,068 | 2.11% |
* "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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