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 | 126,908 | 95.47% | 168,403 | 94.70% |
| Spanish | 2,066 | 1.55% | 4,420 | 2.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,320 | 2.50% | 3,835 | 2.16% |
| Asian Language** | 506 | 0.38% | 979 | 0.55% |
| Other | 125 | 0.09% | 189 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 132,925 | 100.00% | 177,826 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,344 | 30.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 816 | 21.28% |
| Asian Language** | 436 | 44.54% |
| Other Language | 38 | 20.11% |
| Total | 2,634 | 1.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 625 | 30.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 732 | 22.05% |
| Asian Language** | 222 | 43.87% |
| Other Language | 40 | 32.00% |
| Total | 1,619 | 1.22% |
* "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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