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 | 172,217 | 95.96% | 179,788 | 92.33% |
| Spanish | 5,450 | 3.04% | 12,842 | 6.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,410 | 0.79% | 1,232 | 0.63% |
| Asian Language** | 297 | 0.17% | 613 | 0.31% |
| Other | 94 | 0.05% | 242 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 179,468 | 100.00% | 194,717 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,585 | 51.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 268 | 21.75% |
| Asian Language** | 222 | 36.22% |
| Other Language | 16 | 6.61% |
| Total | 7,091 | 3.64% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,450 | 44.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 361 | 25.60% |
| Asian Language** | 173 | 58.25% |
| Other Language | 7 | 7.45% |
| Total | 2,991 | 1.67% |
* "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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