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 | 87,377 | 94.68% | 96,611 | 90.64% |
| Spanish | 1,194 | 1.29% | 5,827 | 5.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,090 | 1.18% | 948 | 0.89% |
| Asian Language** | 2,471 | 2.68% | 2,956 | 2.77% |
| Other | 159 | 0.17% | 248 | 0.23% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 92,291 | 100.00% | 106,590 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,594 | 61.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 200 | 21.10% |
| Asian Language** | 1,757 | 59.44% |
| Other Language | 48 | 19.35% |
| Total | 5,599 | 5.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 383 | 32.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 266 | 24.40% |
| Asian Language** | 1,349 | 54.59% |
| Other Language | 42 | 26.42% |
| Total | 2,040 | 2.21% |
* "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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