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 | 78,350 | 95.69% | 102,448 | 94.89% |
| Spanish | 1,056 | 1.29% | 2,484 | 2.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,383 | 1.69% | 1,336 | 1.24% |
| Asian Language** | 1,047 | 1.28% | 1,419 | 1.31% |
| Other | 44 | 0.05% | 281 | 0.26% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 81,880 | 100.00% | 107,968 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 858 | 34.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 285 | 21.33% |
| Asian Language** | 661 | 46.58% |
| Other Language | 30 | 10.68% |
| Total | 1,834 | 1.70% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 357 | 33.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 347 | 25.09% |
| Asian Language** | 793 | 75.74% |
| Other Language | 22 | 50.00% |
| Total | 1,519 | 1.86% |
* "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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