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 | 109,546 | 91.09% | 115,443 | 88.19% |
| Spanish | 7,462 | 6.21% | 11,049 | 8.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,859 | 1.55% | 2,125 | 1.62% |
| Asian Language** | 1,298 | 1.08% | 2,141 | 1.64% |
| Other | 92 | 0.08% | 148 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 120,257 | 100.00% | 130,906 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,727 | 33.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 556 | 26.16% |
| Asian Language** | 1,088 | 50.82% |
| Other Language | 27 | 18.24% |
| Total | 5,398 | 4.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,687 | 36.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 596 | 32.06% |
| Asian Language** | 682 | 52.54% |
| Other Language | 16 | 17.39% |
| Total | 3,981 | 3.31% |
* "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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