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 | 107,759 | 94.97% | 108,034 | 95.19% |
| Spanish | 629 | 0.55% | 1,269 | 1.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,561 | 4.02% | 3,580 | 3.15% |
| Asian Language** | 236 | 0.21% | 401 | 0.35% |
| Other | 279 | 0.25% | 212 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 113,464 | 100.00% | 113,496 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 400 | 31.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,360 | 37.99% |
| Asian Language** | 202 | 50.37% |
| Other Language | 43 | 20.28% |
| Total | 2,005 | 1.77% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 198 | 31.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,723 | 37.78% |
| Asian Language** | 133 | 56.36% |
| Other Language | 159 | 56.99% |
| Total | 2,213 | 1.95% |
* "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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