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 | 260,133 | 96.86% | 285,210 | 95.18% |
| Spanish | 3,680 | 1.37% | 7,468 | 2.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,267 | 1.22% | 3,413 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 1,317 | 0.49% | 3,011 | 1.00% |
| Other | 182 | 0.07% | 560 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 268,579 | 100.00% | 299,662 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,195 | 42.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 954 | 27.95% |
| Asian Language** | 1,282 | 42.58% |
| Other Language | 165 | 29.46% |
| Total | 5,596 | 1.87% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,290 | 35.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 807 | 24.70% |
| Asian Language** | 631 | 47.91% |
| Other Language | 9 | 4.95% |
| Total | 2,737 | 1.02% |
* "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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