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 | 126,666 | 91.20% | 123,984 | 90.12% |
| Spanish | 1,945 | 1.40% | 3,756 | 2.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,860 | 6.38% | 7,660 | 5.57% |
| Asian Language** | 1,089 | 0.78% | 1,425 | 1.04% |
| Other | 325 | 0.23% | 759 | 0.55% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 138,885 | 100.00% | 137,584 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,123 | 29.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,304 | 30.08% |
| Asian Language** | 519 | 36.42% |
| Other Language | 312 | 41.11% |
| Total | 4,258 | 3.09% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 588 | 30.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,744 | 30.97% |
| Asian Language** | 388 | 35.63% |
| Other Language | 128 | 39.38% |
| Total | 3,848 | 2.77% |
* "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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