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 | 120,842 | 98.37% | 131,174 | 97.57% |
| Spanish | 1,198 | 0.98% | 1,913 | 1.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 617 | 0.50% | 970 | 0.72% |
| Asian Language** | 157 | 0.13% | 348 | 0.26% |
| Other | 34 | 0.03% | 37 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 122,848 | 100.00% | 134,442 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 854 | 44.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 319 | 32.89% |
| Asian Language** | 151 | 43.39% |
| Other Language | 14 | 37.84% |
| Total | 1,338 | 1.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 398 | 33.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 148 | 23.99% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 28.66% |
| Other Language | 22 | 64.71% |
| Total | 613 | 0.50% |
* "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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