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 | 91,659 | 89.65% | 94,113 | 88.73% |
| Spanish | 3,971 | 3.88% | 5,887 | 5.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,794 | 3.71% | 3,249 | 3.06% |
| Asian Language** | 2,134 | 2.09% | 2,145 | 2.02% |
| Other | 681 | 0.67% | 675 | 0.64% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 102,239 | 100.00% | 106,069 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,926 | 32.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 687 | 21.14% |
| Asian Language** | 933 | 43.50% |
| Other Language | 77 | 11.41% |
| Total | 3,623 | 3.42% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,253 | 31.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 931 | 24.54% |
| Asian Language** | 925 | 43.35% |
| Other Language | 161 | 23.64% |
| Total | 3,270 | 3.20% |
* "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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