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 | 524,362 | 93.54% | 526,421 | 94.16% |
| Spanish | 7,214 | 1.29% | 10,367 | 1.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 25,377 | 4.53% | 18,382 | 3.29% |
| Asian Language** | 1,269 | 0.23% | 1,657 | 0.30% |
| Other | 2,358 | 0.42% | 2,240 | 0.40% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 560,580 | 100.00% | 559,067 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,934 | 37.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,754 | 31.30% |
| Asian Language** | 651 | 39.29% |
| Other Language | 548 | 24.46% |
| Total | 10,887 | 1.95% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,280 | 31.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,802 | 30.74% |
| Asian Language** | 532 | 41.92% |
| Other Language | 630 | 26.72% |
| Total | 11,244 | 2.01% |
* "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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