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 | 126,310 | 96.58% | 132,516 | 96.98% |
| Spanish | 1,295 | 0.99% | 1,789 | 1.31% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,562 | 1.96% | 1,558 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 532 | 0.41% | 615 | 0.45% |
| Other | 85 | 0.06% | 166 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 130,784 | 100.00% | 136,644 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 734 | 41.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 393 | 25.22% |
| Asian Language** | 310 | 50.41% |
| Other Language | 26 | 15.66% |
| Total | 1,463 | 1.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 449 | 34.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 603 | 23.54% |
| Asian Language** | 190 | 35.71% |
| Other Language | 17 | 20.00% |
| Total | 1,259 | 0.96% |
* "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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