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 | 107,109 | 96.92% | 109,699 | 96.68% |
| Spanish | 939 | 0.85% | 1,458 | 1.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,113 | 1.91% | 1,861 | 1.64% |
| Asian Language** | 189 | 0.17% | 293 | 0.26% |
| Other | 161 | 0.15% | 150 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 110,511 | 100.00% | 113,461 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 416 | 28.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 541 | 29.07% |
| Asian Language** | 155 | 52.90% |
| Other Language | 76 | 50.67% |
| Total | 1,188 | 1.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 280 | 29.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 634 | 30.00% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 30.69% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 972 | 0.88% |
* "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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