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 | 96,507 | 93.66% | 105,258 | 91.92% |
| Spanish | 1,517 | 1.47% | 2,455 | 2.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,321 | 2.25% | 3,406 | 2.97% |
| Asian Language** | 2,239 | 2.17% | 2,765 | 2.41% |
| Other | 457 | 0.44% | 623 | 0.54% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 103,041 | 100.00% | 114,507 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 681 | 27.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 737 | 21.64% |
| Asian Language** | 1,427 | 51.61% |
| Other Language | 144 | 23.11% |
| Total | 2,989 | 2.61% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 456 | 30.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 512 | 22.06% |
| Asian Language** | 1,074 | 47.97% |
| Other Language | 249 | 54.49% |
| Total | 2,291 | 2.22% |
* "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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