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 | 289,345 | 93.65% | 287,778 | 94.86% |
| Spanish | 2,536 | 0.82% | 4,196 | 1.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15,778 | 5.11% | 10,034 | 3.31% |
| Asian Language** | 653 | 0.21% | 758 | 0.25% |
| Other | 665 | 0.22% | 592 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 308,977 | 100.00% | 303,358 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,664 | 39.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,533 | 25.24% |
| Asian Language** | 367 | 48.42% |
| Other Language | 159 | 26.86% |
| Total | 4,723 | 1.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 825 | 32.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,940 | 24.97% |
| Asian Language** | 280 | 42.88% |
| Other Language | 178 | 26.77% |
| Total | 5,223 | 1.69% |
* "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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