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 | 214,235 | 90.91% | 264,525 | 87.21% |
| Spanish | 9,653 | 4.10% | 21,946 | 7.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,479 | 4.45% | 13,633 | 4.49% |
| Asian Language** | 621 | 0.26% | 1,651 | 0.54% |
| Other | 660 | 0.28% | 1,551 | 0.51% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 235,648 | 100.00% | 303,306 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 11,285 | 51.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,431 | 32.50% |
| Asian Language** | 734 | 44.46% |
| Other Language | 768 | 49.52% |
| Total | 17,218 | 5.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,476 | 46.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,190 | 30.44% |
| Asian Language** | 363 | 58.45% |
| Other Language | 238 | 36.06% |
| Total | 8,267 | 3.51% |
* "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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