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 | 88,887 | 97.19% | 126,979 | 95.80% |
| Spanish | 945 | 1.03% | 3,332 | 2.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,151 | 1.26% | 1,500 | 1.13% |
| Asian Language** | 356 | 0.39% | 458 | 0.35% |
| Other | 115 | 0.13% | 273 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 91,454 | 100.00% | 132,542 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,487 | 44.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 427 | 28.47% |
| Asian Language** | 134 | 29.26% |
| Other Language | 23 | 8.42% |
| Total | 2,071 | 1.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 225 | 23.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 235 | 20.42% |
| Asian Language** | 154 | 43.26% |
| Other Language | 31 | 26.96% |
| Total | 645 | 0.71% |
* "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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