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 | 83,500 | 94.51% | 82,002 | 95.68% |
| Spanish | 1,770 | 2.00% | 1,329 | 1.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,615 | 2.96% | 1,864 | 2.17% |
| Asian Language** | 317 | 0.36% | 425 | 0.50% |
| Other | 153 | 0.17% | 87 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 88,355 | 100.00% | 85,707 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 390 | 29.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 475 | 25.48% |
| Asian Language** | 140 | 32.94% |
| Other Language | 23 | 26.44% |
| Total | 1,028 | 1.20% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 699 | 39.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 776 | 29.67% |
| Asian Language** | 187 | 58.99% |
| Other Language | 35 | 22.88% |
| Total | 1,697 | 1.92% |
* "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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