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 | 228,839 | 93.05% | 219,042 | 92.13% |
| Spanish | 3,023 | 1.23% | 4,458 | 1.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,648 | 4.33% | 9,304 | 3.91% |
| Asian Language** | 2,554 | 1.04% | 3,977 | 1.67% |
| Other | 868 | 0.35% | 974 | 0.41% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 245,932 | 100.00% | 237,755 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,086 | 24.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,070 | 33.00% |
| Asian Language** | 1,608 | 40.43% |
| Other Language | 249 | 25.56% |
| Total | 6,013 | 2.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 880 | 29.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,193 | 29.99% |
| Asian Language** | 1,226 | 48.00% |
| Other Language | 134 | 15.44% |
| Total | 5,433 | 2.21% |
* "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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