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 | 2,593,825 | 84.77% | 2,600,601 | 81.66% |
| Spanish | 167,007 | 5.46% | 268,044 | 8.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 257,476 | 8.41% | 251,335 | 7.89% |
| Asian Language** | 26,747 | 0.87% | 47,993 | 1.51% |
| Other | 14,945 | 0.49% | 16,541 | 0.52% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 3,060,000 | 100.00% | 3,184,514 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 116,538 | 43.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 90,355 | 35.95% |
| Asian Language** | 23,246 | 48.44% |
| Other Language | 4,660 | 28.17% |
| Total | 234,799 | 7.37% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 77,972 | 46.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 88,326 | 34.30% |
| Asian Language** | 13,168 | 49.23% |
| Other Language | 4,552 | 30.46% |
| Total | 184,018 | 6.01% |
* "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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