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 | 344,830 | 88.54% | 380,622 | 86.88% |
| Spanish | 12,792 | 3.28% | 21,741 | 4.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 28,189 | 7.24% | 30,267 | 6.91% |
| Asian Language** | 3,412 | 0.88% | 4,652 | 1.06% |
| Other | 233 | 0.06% | 808 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 389,456 | 100.00% | 438,090 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,942 | 41.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,839 | 39.12% |
| Asian Language** | 2,734 | 58.77% |
| Other Language | 233 | 28.84% |
| Total | 23,748 | 5.42% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,399 | 42.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,192 | 39.70% |
| Asian Language** | 1,936 | 56.74% |
| Other Language | 58 | 24.89% |
| Total | 18,585 | 4.77% |
* "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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