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 | 402,706 | 97.96% | 441,754 | 97.49% |
| Spanish | 3,162 | 0.77% | 5,768 | 1.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,129 | 1.00% | 3,925 | 0.87% |
| Asian Language** | 835 | 0.20% | 1,365 | 0.30% |
| Other | 266 | 0.06% | 336 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 411,098 | 100.00% | 453,148 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,133 | 36.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 929 | 23.67% |
| Asian Language** | 530 | 38.83% |
| Other Language | 59 | 17.56% |
| Total | 3,651 | 0.81% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,077 | 34.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,273 | 30.83% |
| Asian Language** | 281 | 33.65% |
| Other Language | 80 | 30.08% |
| Total | 2,711 | 0.66% |
* "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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