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 | 533,646 | 93.99% | 539,657 | 93.51% |
| Spanish | 12,224 | 2.15% | 16,951 | 2.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 13,749 | 2.42% | 12,224 | 2.12% |
| Asian Language** | 3,947 | 0.70% | 4,420 | 0.77% |
| Other | 4,220 | 0.74% | 3,864 | 0.67% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 567,786 | 100.00% | 577,116 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,452 | 32.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,946 | 24.10% |
| Asian Language** | 2,051 | 46.40% |
| Other Language | 1,067 | 27.61% |
| Total | 11,516 | 2.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,573 | 29.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,661 | 26.63% |
| Asian Language** | 1,863 | 47.20% |
| Other Language | 1,156 | 27.39% |
| Total | 10,253 | 1.81% |
* "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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