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 | 97,949 | 97.25% | 101,711 | 96.46% |
| Spanish | 928 | 0.92% | 1,964 | 1.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,541 | 1.53% | 1,300 | 1.23% |
| Asian Language** | 230 | 0.23% | 312 | 0.30% |
| Other | 67 | 0.07% | 152 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 100,715 | 100.00% | 105,439 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 887 | 45.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 278 | 21.38% |
| Asian Language** | 111 | 35.58% |
| Other Language | 42 | 27.63% |
| Total | 1,318 | 1.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 294 | 31.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 429 | 27.84% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 54.78% |
| Other Language | 10 | 14.93% |
| Total | 859 | 0.85% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy