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 | 130,315 | 94.03% | 128,092 | 91.59% |
| Spanish | 4,848 | 3.50% | 8,335 | 5.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,808 | 2.03% | 2,350 | 1.68% |
| Asian Language** | 507 | 0.37% | 947 | 0.68% |
| Other | 114 | 0.08% | 135 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 138,592 | 100.00% | 139,859 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,973 | 47.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 627 | 26.68% |
| Asian Language** | 302 | 31.89% |
| Other Language | 37 | 27.41% |
| Total | 4,939 | 3.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,905 | 39.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 830 | 29.56% |
| Asian Language** | 198 | 39.05% |
| Other Language | 19 | 16.67% |
| Total | 2,952 | 2.13% |
* "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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