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 | 109,062 | 96.46% | 115,639 | 95.47% |
| Spanish | 954 | 0.84% | 2,479 | 2.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,545 | 2.25% | 2,457 | 2.03% |
| Asian Language** | 375 | 0.33% | 439 | 0.36% |
| Other | 128 | 0.11% | 107 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 113,064 | 100.00% | 121,121 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,195 | 48.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 823 | 33.50% |
| Asian Language** | 227 | 51.71% |
| Other Language | 34 | 31.78% |
| Total | 2,279 | 1.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 362 | 37.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,114 | 43.77% |
| Asian Language** | 214 | 57.07% |
| Other Language | 47 | 36.72% |
| Total | 1,737 | 1.54% |
* "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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