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 | 144,471 | 93.31% | 173,384 | 91.91% |
| Spanish | 3,817 | 2.47% | 6,992 | 3.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,332 | 2.80% | 5,265 | 2.79% |
| Asian Language** | 2,036 | 1.32% | 2,658 | 1.41% |
| Other | 168 | 0.11% | 351 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 154,824 | 100.00% | 188,650 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,304 | 32.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,280 | 24.31% |
| Asian Language** | 1,154 | 43.42% |
| Other Language | 74 | 21.08% |
| Total | 4,812 | 2.55% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,270 | 33.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 948 | 21.88% |
| Asian Language** | 842 | 41.36% |
| Other Language | 63 | 37.50% |
| Total | 3,123 | 2.02% |
* "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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