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 | 307,463 | 91.82% | 322,041 | 89.64% |
| Spanish | 10,735 | 3.21% | 22,692 | 6.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,617 | 3.47% | 7,814 | 2.18% |
| Asian Language** | 4,710 | 1.41% | 6,082 | 1.69% |
| Other | 317 | 0.09% | 618 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 334,842 | 100.00% | 359,247 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,358 | 45.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,937 | 24.79% |
| Asian Language** | 3,250 | 53.44% |
| Other Language | 194 | 31.39% |
| Total | 15,739 | 4.38% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,184 | 38.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,300 | 28.41% |
| Asian Language** | 2,693 | 57.18% |
| Other Language | 44 | 13.88% |
| Total | 10,221 | 3.05% |
* "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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