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 | 91,649 | 97.58% | 93,845 | 96.97% |
| Spanish | 877 | 0.93% | 2,072 | 2.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 932 | 0.99% | 560 | 0.58% |
| Asian Language** | 415 | 0.44% | 198 | 0.20% |
| Other | 48 | 0.05% | 98 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 93,921 | 100.00% | 96,773 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 968 | 46.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 22.68% |
| Asian Language** | 107 | 54.04% |
| Other Language | 29 | 29.59% |
| Total | 1,231 | 1.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 260 | 29.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 272 | 29.18% |
| Asian Language** | 291 | 70.12% |
| Other Language | 32 | 66.67% |
| Total | 855 | 0.91% |
* "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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