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 | 198,892 | 93.66% | 199,400 | 94.34% |
| Spanish | 1,484 | 0.70% | 1,988 | 0.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,583 | 4.98% | 8,363 | 3.96% |
| Asian Language** | 478 | 0.23% | 678 | 0.32% |
| Other | 919 | 0.43% | 932 | 0.44% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 212,356 | 100.00% | 211,361 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 718 | 36.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,801 | 33.49% |
| Asian Language** | 238 | 35.10% |
| Other Language | 176 | 18.88% |
| Total | 3,933 | 1.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 421 | 28.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,460 | 32.69% |
| Asian Language** | 176 | 36.82% |
| Other Language | 185 | 20.13% |
| Total | 4,242 | 2.00% |
* "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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