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 | 354,956 | 97.15% | 393,728 | 96.38% |
| Spanish | 4,480 | 1.23% | 7,893 | 1.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,125 | 1.13% | 4,348 | 1.06% |
| Asian Language** | 1,185 | 0.32% | 1,631 | 0.40% |
| Other | 640 | 0.18% | 899 | 0.22% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 365,386 | 100.00% | 408,499 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,943 | 37.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,009 | 23.21% |
| Asian Language** | 681 | 41.75% |
| Other Language | 196 | 21.80% |
| Total | 4,829 | 1.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,706 | 38.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,162 | 28.17% |
| Asian Language** | 499 | 42.11% |
| Other Language | 224 | 35.00% |
| Total | 3,591 | 0.98% |
* "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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