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 | 75,885 | 95.96% | 89,874 | 96.31% |
| Spanish | 780 | 0.99% | 1,452 | 1.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,138 | 2.70% | 1,687 | 1.81% |
| Asian Language** | 166 | 0.21% | 225 | 0.24% |
| Other | 113 | 0.14% | 77 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 79,082 | 100.00% | 93,315 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 539 | 37.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 600 | 35.57% |
| Asian Language** | 108 | 48.00% |
| Other Language | 46 | 59.74% |
| Total | 1,293 | 1.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 237 | 30.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 609 | 28.48% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 36.75% |
| Other Language | 37 | 32.74% |
| Total | 944 | 1.19% |
* "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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