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 | 115,968 | 94.89% | 138,140 | 91.94% |
| Spanish | 1,471 | 1.20% | 3,998 | 2.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,054 | 2.50% | 4,516 | 3.01% |
| Asian Language** | 1,527 | 1.25% | 3,118 | 2.08% |
| Other | 195 | 0.16% | 472 | 0.31% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 122,215 | 100.00% | 150,244 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,499 | 37.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,008 | 22.32% |
| Asian Language** | 1,266 | 40.60% |
| Other Language | 140 | 29.66% |
| Total | 3,913 | 2.60% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 495 | 33.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 650 | 21.28% |
| Asian Language** | 678 | 44.40% |
| Other Language | 72 | 36.92% |
| Total | 1,895 | 1.55% |
* "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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