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 | 3,348,473 | 97.48% | 3,627,757 | 96.07% |
| Spanish | 31,293 | 0.91% | 70,061 | 1.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 39,316 | 1.14% | 51,025 | 1.35% |
| Asian Language** | 12,294 | 0.36% | 21,031 | 0.56% |
| Other | 3,579 | 0.10% | 6,356 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 3,434,955 | 100.00% | 3,776,230 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 30,842 | 44.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15,307 | 30.00% |
| Asian Language** | 10,794 | 51.32% |
| Other Language | 1,928 | 30.33% |
| Total | 58,871 | 1.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,890 | 34.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,372 | 28.92% |
| Asian Language** | 6,135 | 49.90% |
| Other Language | 1,026 | 28.67% |
| Total | 29,423 | 0.86% |
* "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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