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 | 88,457 | 92.11% | 113,262 | 90.67% |
| Spanish | 2,533 | 2.64% | 5,624 | 4.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,675 | 4.87% | 5,058 | 4.05% |
| Asian Language** | 158 | 0.16% | 503 | 0.40% |
| Other | 208 | 0.22% | 467 | 0.37% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 96,031 | 100.00% | 124,914 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,026 | 36.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,377 | 27.22% |
| Asian Language** | 258 | 51.29% |
| Other Language | 166 | 35.55% |
| Total | 3,827 | 3.06% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 940 | 37.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,401 | 29.97% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 18.99% |
| Other Language | 69 | 33.17% |
| Total | 2,440 | 2.54% |
* "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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