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 | 111,954 | 96.83% | 112,431 | 93.50% |
| Spanish | 1,239 | 1.07% | 3,104 | 2.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,642 | 1.42% | 3,623 | 3.01% |
| Asian Language** | 603 | 0.52% | 822 | 0.68% |
| Other | 186 | 0.16% | 273 | 0.23% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 115,624 | 100.00% | 120,253 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,328 | 42.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,641 | 45.29% |
| Asian Language** | 422 | 51.34% |
| Other Language | 70 | 25.64% |
| Total | 3,461 | 2.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 388 | 31.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 379 | 23.08% |
| Asian Language** | 338 | 56.05% |
| Other Language | 26 | 13.98% |
| Total | 1,131 | 0.98% |
* "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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