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 | 86,138 | 94.89% | 85,743 | 95.57% |
| Spanish | 717 | 0.79% | 1,338 | 1.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,769 | 4.15% | 2,316 | 2.58% |
| Asian Language** | 97 | 0.11% | 234 | 0.26% |
| Other | 54 | 0.06% | 88 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 90,775 | 100.00% | 89,719 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 402 | 30.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 641 | 27.68% |
| Asian Language** | 105 | 44.87% |
| Other Language | 18 | 20.45% |
| Total | 1,166 | 1.30% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 240 | 33.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,127 | 29.90% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 29.90% |
| Other Language | 7 | 12.96% |
| Total | 1,403 | 1.55% |
* "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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