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 | 98,492 | 92.74% | 125,400 | 91.76% |
| Spanish | 2,303 | 2.17% | 4,011 | 2.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,517 | 4.25% | 5,842 | 4.27% |
| Asian Language** | 564 | 0.53% | 865 | 0.63% |
| Other | 326 | 0.31% | 541 | 0.40% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 106,202 | 100.00% | 136,659 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,037 | 25.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,893 | 32.40% |
| Asian Language** | 269 | 31.10% |
| Other Language | 133 | 24.58% |
| Total | 3,332 | 2.44% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 691 | 30.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,318 | 29.18% |
| Asian Language** | 277 | 49.11% |
| Other Language | 78 | 23.93% |
| Total | 2,364 | 2.23% |
* "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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