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 | 152,975 | 94.46% | 179,910 | 92.42% |
| Spanish | 3,258 | 2.01% | 6,137 | 3.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,306 | 1.42% | 3,071 | 1.58% |
| Asian Language** | 2,790 | 1.72% | 4,391 | 2.26% |
| Other | 612 | 0.38% | 1,165 | 0.60% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 161,941 | 100.00% | 194,674 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,908 | 31.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 768 | 25.01% |
| Asian Language** | 2,242 | 51.06% |
| Other Language | 284 | 24.38% |
| Total | 5,202 | 2.67% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 928 | 28.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 484 | 20.99% |
| Asian Language** | 1,238 | 44.37% |
| Other Language | 100 | 16.34% |
| Total | 2,750 | 1.70% |
* "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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