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 | 155,431 | 96.04% | 157,837 | 95.93% |
| Spanish | 1,620 | 1.00% | 2,049 | 1.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,049 | 2.50% | 3,723 | 2.26% |
| Asian Language** | 479 | 0.30% | 651 | 0.40% |
| Other | 267 | 0.16% | 270 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 161,846 | 100.00% | 164,530 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 482 | 23.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,451 | 38.97% |
| Asian Language** | 274 | 42.09% |
| Other Language | 75 | 27.78% |
| Total | 2,282 | 1.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 616 | 38.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,556 | 38.43% |
| Asian Language** | 238 | 49.69% |
| Other Language | 46 | 17.23% |
| Total | 2,456 | 1.52% |
* "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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