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 | 79,270 | 92.88% | 96,498 | 89.56% |
| Spanish | 2,602 | 3.05% | 6,925 | 6.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,017 | 3.53% | 3,527 | 3.27% |
| Asian Language** | 239 | 0.28% | 585 | 0.54% |
| Other | 223 | 0.26% | 210 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 85,351 | 100.00% | 107,745 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,589 | 51.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 880 | 24.95% |
| Asian Language** | 200 | 34.19% |
| Other Language | 82 | 39.05% |
| Total | 4,751 | 4.41% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,209 | 46.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 763 | 25.29% |
| Asian Language** | 60 | 25.10% |
| Other Language | 91 | 40.81% |
| Total | 2,123 | 2.49% |
* "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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