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 | 175,643 | 94.40% | 180,649 | 95.03% |
| Spanish | 1,041 | 0.56% | 2,449 | 1.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,997 | 2.69% | 3,808 | 2.00% |
| Asian Language** | 498 | 0.27% | 931 | 0.49% |
| Other | 3,878 | 2.08% | 2,268 | 1.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 186,057 | 100.00% | 190,105 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 774 | 31.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 842 | 22.11% |
| Asian Language** | 372 | 39.96% |
| Other Language | 447 | 19.71% |
| Total | 2,435 | 1.28% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 273 | 26.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,016 | 20.33% |
| Asian Language** | 275 | 55.22% |
| Other Language | 790 | 20.37% |
| Total | 2,354 | 1.27% |
* "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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