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 | 100,026 | 95.23% | 115,107 | 95.20% |
| Spanish | 1,767 | 1.68% | 2,516 | 2.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,377 | 2.26% | 2,067 | 1.71% |
| Asian Language** | 216 | 0.21% | 339 | 0.28% |
| Other | 645 | 0.61% | 883 | 0.73% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 105,031 | 100.00% | 120,912 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 674 | 26.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 515 | 24.92% |
| Asian Language** | 114 | 33.63% |
| Other Language | 230 | 26.05% |
| Total | 1,533 | 1.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 680 | 38.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 632 | 26.59% |
| Asian Language** | 75 | 34.72% |
| Other Language | 192 | 29.77% |
| Total | 1,579 | 1.50% |
* "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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