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 | 283,102 | 80.65% | 306,662 | 74.00% |
| Spanish | 19,804 | 5.64% | 37,209 | 8.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 32,961 | 9.39% | 45,078 | 10.88% |
| Asian Language** | 10,839 | 3.09% | 16,424 | 3.96% |
| Other | 4,325 | 1.23% | 9,029 | 2.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 351,031 | 100.00% | 414,402 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 13,945 | 37.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15,797 | 35.04% |
| Asian Language** | 7,876 | 47.95% |
| Other Language | 2,658 | 29.44% |
| Total | 40,276 | 9.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,948 | 35.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,543 | 31.99% |
| Asian Language** | 4,971 | 45.86% |
| Other Language | 1,130 | 26.13% |
| Total | 23,592 | 6.72% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy