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 | 77,814 | 96.81% | 79,868 | 96.01% |
| Spanish | 854 | 1.06% | 1,652 | 1.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,339 | 1.67% | 1,289 | 1.55% |
| Asian Language** | 306 | 0.38% | 285 | 0.34% |
| Other | 68 | 0.08% | 90 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 80,381 | 100.00% | 83,184 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 648 | 39.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 454 | 35.22% |
| Asian Language** | 170 | 59.65% |
| Other Language | 29 | 32.22% |
| Total | 1,301 | 1.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 378 | 44.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 332 | 24.79% |
| Asian Language** | 174 | 56.86% |
| Other Language | 14 | 20.59% |
| Total | 898 | 1.12% |
* "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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