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 | 135,107 | 93.99% | 182,724 | 91.56% |
| Spanish | 4,151 | 2.89% | 11,262 | 5.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,713 | 2.58% | 4,224 | 2.12% |
| Asian Language** | 380 | 0.26% | 852 | 0.43% |
| Other | 389 | 0.27% | 498 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 143,740 | 100.00% | 199,560 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,517 | 40.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 899 | 21.28% |
| Asian Language** | 344 | 40.38% |
| Other Language | 154 | 30.92% |
| Total | 5,914 | 2.96% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,844 | 44.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,052 | 28.33% |
| Asian Language** | 125 | 32.89% |
| Other Language | 105 | 26.99% |
| Total | 3,126 | 2.17% |
* "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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