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 | 131,315 | 96.17% | 135,923 | 96.91% |
| Spanish | 791 | 0.58% | 1,287 | 0.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,964 | 2.90% | 2,590 | 1.85% |
| Asian Language** | 132 | 0.10% | 253 | 0.18% |
| Other | 345 | 0.25% | 201 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 136,547 | 100.00% | 140,254 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 444 | 34.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 523 | 20.19% |
| Asian Language** | 144 | 56.92% |
| Other Language | 36 | 17.91% |
| Total | 1,147 | 0.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 289 | 36.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,115 | 28.13% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 28.03% |
| Other Language | 89 | 25.80% |
| Total | 1,530 | 1.12% |
* "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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