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 | 287,775 | 97.84% | 290,537 | 97.74% |
| Spanish | 2,887 | 0.98% | 3,138 | 1.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,589 | 0.88% | 2,149 | 0.72% |
| Asian Language** | 631 | 0.21% | 1,050 | 0.35% |
| Other | 234 | 0.08% | 389 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 294,116 | 100.00% | 297,263 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,044 | 33.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 513 | 23.87% |
| Asian Language** | 403 | 38.38% |
| Other Language | 70 | 17.99% |
| Total | 2,030 | 0.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,120 | 38.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 816 | 31.52% |
| Asian Language** | 262 | 41.52% |
| Other Language | 28 | 11.97% |
| Total | 2,226 | 0.76% |
* "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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