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 | 133,932 | 96.57% | 141,475 | 95.61% |
| Spanish | 1,547 | 1.12% | 3,071 | 2.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,631 | 1.90% | 2,670 | 1.80% |
| Asian Language** | 461 | 0.33% | 556 | 0.38% |
| Other | 119 | 0.09% | 203 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 138,690 | 100.00% | 147,975 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,131 | 36.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 504 | 18.88% |
| Asian Language** | 283 | 50.90% |
| Other Language | 82 | 40.39% |
| Total | 2,000 | 1.35% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 470 | 30.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 557 | 21.17% |
| Asian Language** | 225 | 48.81% |
| Other Language | 63 | 52.94% |
| Total | 1,315 | 0.95% |
* "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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