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 | 111,515 | 94.57% | 130,578 | 90.43% |
| Spanish | 2,110 | 1.79% | 7,544 | 5.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,387 | 2.02% | 3,072 | 2.13% |
| Asian Language** | 1,543 | 1.31% | 2,594 | 1.80% |
| Other | 364 | 0.31% | 612 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 117,919 | 100.00% | 144,400 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,576 | 60.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 746 | 24.28% |
| Asian Language** | 1,133 | 43.68% |
| Other Language | 165 | 26.96% |
| Total | 6,620 | 4.58% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 737 | 34.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 676 | 28.32% |
| Asian Language** | 926 | 60.01% |
| Other Language | 109 | 29.95% |
| Total | 2,448 | 2.08% |
* "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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