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 | 158,948 | 94.89% | 191,302 | 94.25% |
| Spanish | 2,486 | 1.48% | 3,993 | 1.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,591 | 2.74% | 5,266 | 2.59% |
| Asian Language** | 1,339 | 0.80% | 1,884 | 0.93% |
| Other | 150 | 0.09% | 522 | 0.26% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 167,514 | 100.00% | 202,967 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,218 | 30.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,288 | 24.46% |
| Asian Language** | 797 | 42.30% |
| Other Language | 110 | 21.07% |
| Total | 3,413 | 1.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 698 | 28.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,165 | 25.38% |
| Asian Language** | 523 | 39.06% |
| Other Language | 40 | 26.67% |
| Total | 2,426 | 1.45% |
* "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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