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 | 115,997 | 96.14% | 132,245 | 93.96% |
| Spanish | 1,371 | 1.14% | 3,542 | 2.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,996 | 1.65% | 2,575 | 1.83% |
| Asian Language** | 1,072 | 0.89% | 2,035 | 1.45% |
| Other | 212 | 0.18% | 348 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 120,648 | 100.00% | 140,745 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,370 | 38.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 550 | 21.36% |
| Asian Language** | 917 | 45.06% |
| Other Language | 75 | 21.55% |
| Total | 2,912 | 2.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 413 | 30.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 517 | 25.90% |
| Asian Language** | 683 | 63.71% |
| Other Language | 83 | 39.15% |
| Total | 1,696 | 1.41% |
* "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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