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 | 158,345 | 96.57% | 183,265 | 94.08% |
| Spanish | 2,200 | 1.34% | 6,441 | 3.31% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,553 | 1.56% | 3,493 | 1.79% |
| Asian Language** | 602 | 0.37% | 1,253 | 0.64% |
| Other | 272 | 0.17% | 339 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 163,972 | 100.00% | 194,791 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,363 | 52.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,233 | 35.30% |
| Asian Language** | 424 | 33.84% |
| Other Language | 102 | 30.09% |
| Total | 5,122 | 2.63% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 776 | 35.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 724 | 28.36% |
| Asian Language** | 358 | 59.47% |
| Other Language | 109 | 40.07% |
| Total | 1,967 | 1.20% |
* "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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