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 | 106,115 | 96.77% | 158,413 | 94.12% |
| Spanish | 943 | 0.86% | 4,765 | 2.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,291 | 1.18% | 2,060 | 1.22% |
| Asian Language** | 1,199 | 1.09% | 2,681 | 1.59% |
| Other | 107 | 0.10% | 392 | 0.23% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 109,655 | 100.00% | 168,311 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,448 | 51.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 413 | 20.05% |
| Asian Language** | 1,395 | 52.03% |
| Other Language | 159 | 40.56% |
| Total | 4,415 | 2.62% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 356 | 37.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 421 | 32.61% |
| Asian Language** | 592 | 49.37% |
| Other Language | 14 | 13.08% |
| Total | 1,383 | 1.26% |
* "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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