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 | 103,418 | 96.69% | 140,291 | 96.31% |
| Spanish | 669 | 0.63% | 1,619 | 1.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,393 | 2.24% | 2,708 | 1.86% |
| Asian Language** | 214 | 0.20% | 645 | 0.44% |
| Other | 263 | 0.25% | 401 | 0.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 106,957 | 100.00% | 145,664 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 526 | 32.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 476 | 17.58% |
| Asian Language** | 316 | 48.99% |
| Other Language | 103 | 25.69% |
| Total | 1,421 | 0.98% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 149 | 22.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 545 | 22.77% |
| Asian Language** | 98 | 45.79% |
| Other Language | 57 | 21.67% |
| Total | 849 | 0.79% |
* "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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