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 | 188,269 | 97.12% | 251,800 | 96.01% |
| Spanish | 1,880 | 0.97% | 4,600 | 1.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,915 | 1.50% | 4,320 | 1.65% |
| Asian Language** | 706 | 0.36% | 1,284 | 0.49% |
| Other | 91 | 0.05% | 255 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 193,861 | 100.00% | 262,259 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,652 | 35.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,145 | 26.50% |
| Asian Language** | 596 | 46.42% |
| Other Language | 51 | 20.00% |
| Total | 3,444 | 1.31% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 526 | 27.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 598 | 20.51% |
| Asian Language** | 276 | 39.09% |
| Other Language | 12 | 13.19% |
| Total | 1,412 | 0.73% |
* "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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