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 | 222,430 | 92.82% | 198,440 | 91.10% |
| Spanish | 6,689 | 2.79% | 8,482 | 3.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,171 | 2.16% | 4,930 | 2.26% |
| Asian Language** | 4,689 | 1.96% | 5,063 | 2.32% |
| Other | 650 | 0.27% | 903 | 0.41% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 239,629 | 100.00% | 217,818 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,769 | 32.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,262 | 25.60% |
| Asian Language** | 2,185 | 43.16% |
| Other Language | 263 | 29.13% |
| Total | 6,479 | 2.97% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,011 | 30.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,542 | 29.82% |
| Asian Language** | 2,131 | 45.45% |
| Other Language | 204 | 31.38% |
| Total | 5,888 | 2.46% |
* "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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