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 | 262,139 | 97.07% | 294,367 | 94.99% |
| Spanish | 2,405 | 0.89% | 6,136 | 1.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,110 | 1.52% | 5,716 | 1.84% |
| Asian Language** | 1,153 | 0.43% | 2,934 | 0.95% |
| Other | 254 | 0.09% | 739 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 270,061 | 100.00% | 309,892 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,400 | 39.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,333 | 23.32% |
| Asian Language** | 1,353 | 46.11% |
| Other Language | 179 | 24.22% |
| Total | 5,265 | 1.70% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 883 | 36.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 933 | 22.70% |
| Asian Language** | 530 | 45.97% |
| Other Language | 108 | 42.52% |
| Total | 2,454 | 0.91% |
* "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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