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 | 87,204 | 90.97% | 107,584 | 88.71% |
| Spanish | 4,410 | 4.60% | 8,139 | 6.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,619 | 3.78% | 4,229 | 3.49% |
| Asian Language** | 351 | 0.37% | 363 | 0.30% |
| Other | 280 | 0.29% | 962 | 0.79% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 95,864 | 100.00% | 121,277 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,499 | 55.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,078 | 25.49% |
| Asian Language** | 170 | 46.83% |
| Other Language | 593 | 61.64% |
| Total | 6,340 | 5.23% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,092 | 47.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 983 | 27.16% |
| Asian Language** | 256 | 72.93% |
| Other Language | 75 | 26.79% |
| Total | 3,406 | 3.55% |
* "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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