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 | 97,223 | 89.95% | 102,051 | 92.18% |
| Spanish | 382 | 0.35% | 736 | 0.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9,862 | 9.12% | 7,337 | 6.63% |
| Asian Language** | 406 | 0.38% | 512 | 0.46% |
| Other | 215 | 0.20% | 70 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 108,088 | 100.00% | 110,706 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 218 | 29.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,816 | 24.75% |
| Asian Language** | 252 | 49.22% |
| Other Language | 4 | 5.71% |
| Total | 2,290 | 2.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 131 | 34.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,001 | 30.43% |
| Asian Language** | 248 | 61.08% |
| Other Language | 75 | 34.88% |
| Total | 3,455 | 3.20% |
* "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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