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 | 164,190 | 94.17% | 164,183 | 95.68% |
| Spanish | 1,178 | 0.68% | 1,860 | 1.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,548 | 4.90% | 4,979 | 2.90% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 0.07% | 260 | 0.15% |
| Other | 311 | 0.18% | 312 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 174,353 | 100.00% | 171,594 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 496 | 26.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,284 | 25.79% |
| Asian Language** | 140 | 53.85% |
| Other Language | 83 | 26.60% |
| Total | 2,003 | 1.17% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 290 | 24.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,534 | 29.64% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 31.75% |
| Other Language | 86 | 27.65% |
| Total | 2,950 | 1.69% |
* "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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