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 | 100,033 | 94.20% | 98,818 | 86.14% |
| Spanish | 2,889 | 2.72% | 11,728 | 10.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,731 | 1.63% | 1,404 | 1.22% |
| Asian Language** | 1,186 | 1.12% | 2,438 | 2.13% |
| Other | 356 | 0.34% | 326 | 0.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 106,195 | 100.00% | 114,714 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,910 | 58.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 284 | 20.23% |
| Asian Language** | 1,710 | 70.14% |
| Other Language | 73 | 22.39% |
| Total | 8,977 | 7.83% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,421 | 49.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 522 | 30.16% |
| Asian Language** | 875 | 73.78% |
| Other Language | 6 | 1.69% |
| Total | 2,824 | 2.66% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy