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 | 104,446 | 96.04% | 101,661 | 96.53% |
| Spanish | 1,667 | 1.53% | 1,814 | 1.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,767 | 1.62% | 1,187 | 1.13% |
| Asian Language** | 810 | 0.74% | 530 | 0.50% |
| Other | 67 | 0.06% | 128 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 108,757 | 100.00% | 105,320 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 673 | 37.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 298 | 25.11% |
| Asian Language** | 226 | 42.64% |
| Other Language | 45 | 35.16% |
| Total | 1,242 | 1.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 483 | 28.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 518 | 29.32% |
| Asian Language** | 381 | 47.04% |
| Other Language | 22 | 32.84% |
| Total | 1,404 | 1.29% |
* "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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