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 | 1,698,821 | 90.12% | 1,888,437 | 83.48% |
| Spanish | 33,067 | 1.75% | 90,032 | 3.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 56,254 | 2.98% | 96,614 | 4.27% |
| Asian Language** | 89,343 | 4.74% | 166,820 | 7.37% |
| Other | 7,550 | 0.40% | 20,370 | 0.90% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 1,885,035 | 100.00% | 2,262,273 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 40,736 | 45.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 34,192 | 35.39% |
| Asian Language** | 86,119 | 51.62% |
| Other Language | 7,660 | 37.60% |
| Total | 168,707 | 7.46% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,117 | 30.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15,312 | 27.22% |
| Asian Language** | 48,234 | 53.99% |
| Other Language | 2,584 | 34.23% |
| Total | 76,247 | 4.04% |
* "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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