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 | 132,794 | 95.37% | 139,307 | 94.39% |
| Spanish | 2,709 | 1.95% | 3,980 | 2.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,810 | 2.02% | 2,291 | 1.55% |
| Asian Language** | 776 | 0.56% | 1,684 | 1.14% |
| Other | 155 | 0.11% | 331 | 0.22% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 139,244 | 100.00% | 147,593 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,569 | 39.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 710 | 30.99% |
| Asian Language** | 1,007 | 59.80% |
| Other Language | 79 | 23.87% |
| Total | 3,365 | 2.28% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 943 | 34.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 909 | 32.35% |
| Asian Language** | 439 | 56.57% |
| Other Language | 16 | 10.32% |
| Total | 2,307 | 1.66% |
* "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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