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 | 1,642,729 | 97.38% | 1,661,036 | 97.31% |
| Spanish | 13,337 | 0.79% | 17,652 | 1.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 24,257 | 1.44% | 19,491 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 4,370 | 0.26% | 6,038 | 0.35% |
| Other | 2,239 | 0.13% | 2,714 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 1,686,932 | 100.00% | 1,706,931 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,728 | 32.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,970 | 25.50% |
| Asian Language** | 2,249 | 37.25% |
| Other Language | 603 | 22.22% |
| Total | 13,550 | 0.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,348 | 32.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,980 | 28.78% |
| Asian Language** | 1,766 | 40.41% |
| Other Language | 500 | 22.33% |
| Total | 13,594 | 0.81% |
* "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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