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 | 111,963 | 93.25% | 123,162 | 91.65% |
| Spanish | 2,081 | 1.73% | 3,949 | 2.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,958 | 4.13% | 5,809 | 4.32% |
| Asian Language** | 448 | 0.37% | 788 | 0.59% |
| Other | 616 | 0.51% | 672 | 0.50% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 120,066 | 100.00% | 134,380 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,119 | 28.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,515 | 26.08% |
| Asian Language** | 321 | 40.74% |
| Other Language | 170 | 25.30% |
| Total | 3,125 | 2.33% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 544 | 26.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,330 | 26.83% |
| Asian Language** | 139 | 31.03% |
| Other Language | 224 | 36.36% |
| Total | 2,237 | 1.86% |
* "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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