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 | 88,855 | 93.71% | 85,202 | 93.23% |
| Spanish | 1,586 | 1.67% | 2,504 | 2.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,615 | 3.81% | 2,922 | 3.20% |
| Asian Language** | 576 | 0.61% | 528 | 0.58% |
| Other | 192 | 0.20% | 229 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 94,824 | 100.00% | 91,385 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 844 | 33.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 643 | 22.01% |
| Asian Language** | 214 | 40.53% |
| Other Language | 105 | 45.85% |
| Total | 1,806 | 1.98% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 479 | 30.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 796 | 22.02% |
| Asian Language** | 247 | 42.88% |
| Other Language | 90 | 46.88% |
| Total | 1,612 | 1.70% |
* "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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