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 | 114,015 | 94.82% | 128,741 | 93.78% |
| Spanish | 2,196 | 1.83% | 3,914 | 2.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,323 | 2.76% | 3,496 | 2.55% |
| Asian Language** | 475 | 0.40% | 729 | 0.53% |
| Other | 234 | 0.19% | 394 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 120,243 | 100.00% | 137,274 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,120 | 28.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 805 | 23.03% |
| Asian Language** | 314 | 43.07% |
| Other Language | 40 | 10.15% |
| Total | 2,279 | 1.66% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 673 | 30.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 966 | 29.07% |
| Asian Language** | 168 | 35.37% |
| Other Language | 36 | 15.38% |
| Total | 1,843 | 1.53% |
* "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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