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 | 838,305 | 94.40% | 902,864 | 91.01% |
| Spanish | 10,919 | 1.23% | 26,747 | 2.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 22,575 | 2.54% | 27,177 | 2.74% |
| Asian Language** | 13,176 | 1.48% | 22,765 | 2.29% |
| Other | 3,079 | 0.35% | 12,509 | 1.26% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 888,054 | 100.00% | 992,062 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 11,549 | 43.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,941 | 29.22% |
| Asian Language** | 11,662 | 51.23% |
| Other Language | 5,762 | 46.06% |
| Total | 36,914 | 3.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,633 | 33.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,457 | 28.60% |
| Asian Language** | 7,273 | 55.20% |
| Other Language | 819 | 26.60% |
| Total | 18,182 | 2.05% |
* "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