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 | 103,002 | 96.56% | 115,957 | 94.90% |
| Spanish | 1,271 | 1.19% | 2,973 | 2.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,474 | 1.38% | 1,499 | 1.23% |
| Asian Language** | 813 | 0.76% | 1,553 | 1.27% |
| Other | 117 | 0.11% | 207 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 106,677 | 100.00% | 122,189 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,169 | 39.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 423 | 28.22% |
| Asian Language** | 723 | 46.56% |
| Other Language | 31 | 14.98% |
| Total | 2,346 | 1.92% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 531 | 41.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 364 | 24.69% |
| Asian Language** | 430 | 52.89% |
| Other Language | 37 | 31.62% |
| Total | 1,362 | 1.28% |
* "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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