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 | 257,712 | 96.67% | 275,038 | 94.95% |
| Spanish | 3,365 | 1.26% | 6,733 | 2.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,525 | 1.32% | 4,635 | 1.60% |
| Asian Language** | 1,587 | 0.60% | 2,645 | 0.91% |
| Other | 391 | 0.15% | 617 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 266,580 | 100.00% | 289,668 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,648 | 39.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,423 | 30.70% |
| Asian Language** | 1,289 | 48.73% |
| Other Language | 169 | 27.39% |
| Total | 5,529 | 1.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,213 | 36.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 905 | 25.67% |
| Asian Language** | 763 | 48.08% |
| Other Language | 112 | 28.64% |
| Total | 2,993 | 1.12% |
* "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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