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 | 227,521 | 91.92% | 225,310 | 93.00% |
| Spanish | 4,802 | 1.94% | 6,415 | 2.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 13,253 | 5.35% | 8,719 | 3.60% |
| Asian Language** | 561 | 0.23% | 667 | 0.28% |
| Other | 1,372 | 0.55% | 1,156 | 0.48% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 247,509 | 100.00% | 242,267 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,329 | 36.31% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,675 | 30.68% |
| Asian Language** | 302 | 45.28% |
| Other Language | 330 | 28.55% |
| Total | 5,636 | 2.33% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,565 | 32.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,913 | 29.53% |
| Asian Language** | 230 | 41.00% |
| Other Language | 435 | 31.71% |
| Total | 6,143 | 2.48% |
* "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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