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 | 92,320 | 95.24% | 93,984 | 90.66% |
| Spanish | 3,461 | 3.57% | 8,398 | 8.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 879 | 0.91% | 770 | 0.74% |
| Asian Language** | 219 | 0.23% | 391 | 0.38% |
| Other | 55 | 0.06% | 124 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 96,934 | 100.00% | 103,667 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,612 | 54.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 149 | 19.35% |
| Asian Language** | 137 | 35.04% |
| Other Language | 13 | 10.48% |
| Total | 4,911 | 4.74% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,508 | 43.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 198 | 22.53% |
| Asian Language** | 131 | 59.82% |
| Other Language | 5 | 9.09% |
| Total | 1,842 | 1.90% |
* "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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