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 | 123,433 | 93.44% | 122,179 | 92.79% |
| Spanish | 3,501 | 2.65% | 5,015 | 3.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,765 | 3.61% | 4,114 | 3.12% |
| Asian Language** | 246 | 0.19% | 208 | 0.16% |
| Other | 148 | 0.11% | 161 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 132,093 | 100.00% | 131,677 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,195 | 43.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,227 | 29.82% |
| Asian Language** | 91 | 43.75% |
| Other Language | 63 | 39.13% |
| Total | 3,576 | 2.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,281 | 36.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,508 | 31.65% |
| Asian Language** | 144 | 58.54% |
| Other Language | 65 | 43.92% |
| Total | 2,998 | 2.27% |
* "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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