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 | 113,927 | 93.24% | 127,002 | 91.98% |
| Spanish | 747 | 0.61% | 1,687 | 1.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,553 | 5.36% | 7,206 | 5.22% |
| Asian Language** | 679 | 0.56% | 1,743 | 1.26% |
| Other | 284 | 0.23% | 435 | 0.32% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 122,190 | 100.00% | 138,073 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 437 | 25.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,972 | 27.37% |
| Asian Language** | 1,012 | 58.06% |
| Other Language | 36 | 8.28% |
| Total | 3,457 | 2.50% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 134 | 17.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,455 | 22.20% |
| Asian Language** | 324 | 47.72% |
| Other Language | 31 | 10.92% |
| Total | 1,944 | 1.59% |
* "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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