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 | 90,868 | 95.41% | 108,743 | 94.51% |
| Spanish | 757 | 0.79% | 1,662 | 1.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,937 | 3.08% | 3,283 | 2.85% |
| Asian Language** | 529 | 0.56% | 755 | 0.66% |
| Other | 152 | 0.16% | 616 | 0.54% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 95,243 | 100.00% | 115,059 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 500 | 30.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,107 | 33.72% |
| Asian Language** | 264 | 34.97% |
| Other Language | 289 | 46.92% |
| Total | 2,160 | 1.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 260 | 34.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 634 | 21.59% |
| Asian Language** | 302 | 57.09% |
| Other Language | 11 | 7.24% |
| Total | 1,207 | 1.27% |
* "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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