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 | 456,264 | 88.72% | 488,958 | 85.29% |
| Spanish | 16,583 | 3.22% | 30,137 | 5.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 29,446 | 5.73% | 35,508 | 6.19% |
| Asian Language** | 8,943 | 1.74% | 14,738 | 2.57% |
| Other | 3,047 | 0.59% | 3,962 | 0.69% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 514,283 | 100.00% | 573,303 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 13,394 | 44.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,773 | 30.34% |
| Asian Language** | 5,681 | 38.55% |
| Other Language | 979 | 24.71% |
| Total | 30,827 | 5.38% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,416 | 38.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9,043 | 30.71% |
| Asian Language** | 3,556 | 39.76% |
| Other Language | 787 | 25.83% |
| Total | 19,802 | 3.85% |
* "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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