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 | 135,105 | 95.06% | 153,126 | 93.86% |
| Spanish | 1,501 | 1.06% | 3,398 | 2.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,526 | 3.18% | 4,776 | 2.93% |
| Asian Language** | 775 | 0.55% | 1,022 | 0.63% |
| Other | 220 | 0.15% | 815 | 0.50% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 142,127 | 100.00% | 163,137 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,148 | 33.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,702 | 35.64% |
| Asian Language** | 386 | 37.77% |
| Other Language | 314 | 38.53% |
| Total | 3,550 | 2.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 573 | 38.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,025 | 22.65% |
| Asian Language** | 452 | 58.32% |
| Other Language | 18 | 8.18% |
| Total | 2,068 | 1.46% |
* "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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