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 | 571,985 | 73.80% | 583,116 | 71.12% |
| Spanish | 10,927 | 1.41% | 13,304 | 1.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,265 | 1.32% | 9,594 | 1.17% |
| Asian Language** | 181,085 | 23.36% | 212,306 | 25.89% |
| Other | 801 | 0.10% | 1,594 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 775,063 | 100.00% | 819,914 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,201 | 24.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,328 | 24.27% |
| Asian Language** | 107,508 | 50.64% |
| Other Language | 513 | 32.18% |
| Total | 113,550 | 13.85% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,715 | 24.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,153 | 20.97% |
| Asian Language** | 94,869 | 52.39% |
| Other Language | 190 | 23.72% |
| Total | 99,927 | 12.89% |
* "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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