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 | 241,465 | 88.83% | 248,723 | 84.74% |
| Spanish | 11,975 | 4.41% | 24,602 | 8.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 13,138 | 4.83% | 12,035 | 4.10% |
| Asian Language** | 2,305 | 0.85% | 4,043 | 1.38% |
| Other | 2,945 | 1.08% | 4,115 | 1.40% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 271,828 | 100.00% | 293,518 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 9,769 | 39.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,144 | 26.12% |
| Asian Language** | 1,902 | 47.04% |
| Other Language | 1,727 | 41.97% |
| Total | 16,542 | 5.64% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,428 | 45.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,810 | 29.00% |
| Asian Language** | 1,281 | 55.57% |
| Other Language | 1,186 | 40.27% |
| Total | 11,705 | 4.31% |
* "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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