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 | 150,683 | 96.10% | 169,838 | 95.17% |
| Spanish | 1,389 | 0.89% | 3,437 | 1.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,298 | 2.10% | 3,077 | 1.72% |
| Asian Language** | 828 | 0.53% | 1,447 | 0.81% |
| Other | 598 | 0.38% | 665 | 0.37% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 156,796 | 100.00% | 178,464 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,187 | 34.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 740 | 24.05% |
| Asian Language** | 585 | 40.43% |
| Other Language | 318 | 47.82% |
| Total | 2,830 | 1.59% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 446 | 32.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 893 | 27.08% |
| Asian Language** | 460 | 55.56% |
| Other Language | 201 | 33.61% |
| Total | 2,000 | 1.28% |
* "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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