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 | 215,732 | 91.36% | 218,025 | 89.75% |
| Spanish | 5,925 | 2.51% | 10,967 | 4.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12,138 | 5.14% | 10,128 | 4.17% |
| Asian Language** | 1,646 | 0.70% | 3,043 | 1.25% |
| Other | 702 | 0.30% | 768 | 0.32% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 236,143 | 100.00% | 242,931 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,148 | 37.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,106 | 30.67% |
| Asian Language** | 1,166 | 38.32% |
| Other Language | 201 | 26.17% |
| Total | 8,621 | 3.55% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,242 | 37.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,259 | 26.85% |
| Asian Language** | 619 | 37.61% |
| Other Language | 253 | 36.04% |
| Total | 6,373 | 2.70% |
* "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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