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 | 118,520 | 96.90% | 118,116 | 96.92% |
| Spanish | 563 | 0.46% | 1,049 | 0.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,015 | 2.47% | 2,233 | 1.83% |
| Asian Language** | 130 | 0.11% | 363 | 0.30% |
| Other | 79 | 0.06% | 105 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 122,307 | 100.00% | 121,866 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 321 | 30.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 639 | 28.62% |
| Asian Language** | 111 | 30.58% |
| Other Language | 9 | 8.57% |
| Total | 1,080 | 0.89% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 207 | 36.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 787 | 26.10% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 50.77% |
| Other Language | 29 | 36.71% |
| Total | 1,089 | 0.89% |
* "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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