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 | 206,771 | 93.42% | 216,635 | 91.48% |
| Spanish | 4,981 | 2.25% | 9,325 | 3.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,318 | 3.31% | 6,399 | 2.70% |
| Asian Language** | 1,615 | 0.73% | 3,237 | 1.37% |
| Other | 640 | 0.29% | 1,205 | 0.51% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 221,325 | 100.00% | 236,801 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,722 | 39.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,003 | 31.30% |
| Asian Language** | 1,982 | 61.23% |
| Other Language | 409 | 33.94% |
| Total | 8,116 | 3.43% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,990 | 39.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,209 | 30.19% |
| Asian Language** | 892 | 55.23% |
| Other Language | 151 | 23.59% |
| Total | 5,242 | 2.37% |
* "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