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 | 252,548 | 97.33% | 268,178 | 96.62% |
| Spanish | 2,293 | 0.88% | 4,100 | 1.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,646 | 1.41% | 3,562 | 1.28% |
| Asian Language** | 764 | 0.29% | 1,406 | 0.51% |
| Other | 226 | 0.09% | 304 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 259,477 | 100.00% | 277,550 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,336 | 32.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 938 | 26.33% |
| Asian Language** | 582 | 41.39% |
| Other Language | 75 | 24.67% |
| Total | 2,931 | 1.06% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 705 | 30.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 989 | 27.13% |
| Asian Language** | 437 | 57.20% |
| Other Language | 53 | 23.45% |
| Total | 2,184 | 0.84% |
* "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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