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 | 109,714 | 96.89% | 119,772 | 96.76% |
| Spanish | 1,124 | 0.99% | 1,787 | 1.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,893 | 1.67% | 1,449 | 1.17% |
| Asian Language** | 356 | 0.31% | 648 | 0.52% |
| Other | 150 | 0.13% | 124 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 113,237 | 100.00% | 123,780 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 494 | 27.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 403 | 27.81% |
| Asian Language** | 340 | 52.47% |
| Other Language | 81 | 65.32% |
| Total | 1,318 | 1.06% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 414 | 36.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 631 | 33.33% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 36.24% |
| Other Language | 43 | 28.67% |
| Total | 1,217 | 1.07% |
* "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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