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 | 139,212 | 90.46% | 151,064 | 89.87% |
| Spanish | 4,572 | 2.97% | 7,585 | 4.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,662 | 5.63% | 7,814 | 4.65% |
| Asian Language** | 905 | 0.59% | 1,106 | 0.66% |
| Other | 536 | 0.35% | 524 | 0.31% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 153,887 | 100.00% | 168,093 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,540 | 33.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,068 | 26.47% |
| Asian Language** | 490 | 44.30% |
| Other Language | 136 | 25.95% |
| Total | 5,234 | 3.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,589 | 34.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,288 | 26.41% |
| Asian Language** | 420 | 46.41% |
| Other Language | 199 | 37.13% |
| Total | 4,496 | 2.92% |
* "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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