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 | 108,168 | 96.93% | 115,218 | 95.29% |
| Spanish | 2,233 | 2.00% | 4,228 | 3.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 761 | 0.68% | 926 | 0.77% |
| Asian Language** | 341 | 0.31% | 441 | 0.36% |
| Other | 90 | 0.08% | 97 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 111,593 | 100.00% | 120,910 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,151 | 27.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 234 | 25.27% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 28.57% |
| Other Language | 55 | 56.70% |
| Total | 1,566 | 1.30% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 840 | 37.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 226 | 29.70% |
| Asian Language** | 171 | 50.15% |
| Other Language | 33 | 36.67% |
| Total | 1,270 | 1.14% |
* "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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