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 | 379,155 | 95.42% | 386,259 | 95.47% |
| Spanish | 5,816 | 1.46% | 7,556 | 1.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,564 | 2.16% | 6,256 | 1.55% |
| Asian Language** | 1,341 | 0.34% | 1,645 | 0.41% |
| Other | 2,487 | 0.63% | 2,870 | 0.71% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 397,363 | 100.00% | 404,586 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,227 | 29.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,551 | 24.79% |
| Asian Language** | 660 | 40.12% |
| Other Language | 674 | 23.48% |
| Total | 5,112 | 1.26% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,762 | 30.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,359 | 27.55% |
| Asian Language** | 566 | 42.21% |
| Other Language | 645 | 25.93% |
| Total | 5,332 | 1.34% |
* "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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