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 | 118,784 | 96.26% | 130,864 | 96.02% |
| Spanish | 1,496 | 1.21% | 2,044 | 1.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,604 | 2.11% | 2,346 | 1.72% |
| Asian Language** | 256 | 0.21% | 501 | 0.37% |
| Other | 260 | 0.21% | 536 | 0.39% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 123,400 | 100.00% | 136,291 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 727 | 35.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 666 | 28.39% |
| Asian Language** | 283 | 56.49% |
| Other Language | 166 | 30.97% |
| Total | 1,842 | 1.35% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 514 | 34.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 665 | 25.54% |
| Asian Language** | 155 | 60.55% |
| Other Language | 78 | 30.00% |
| Total | 1,412 | 1.14% |
* "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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