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 | 116,865 | 94.80% | 128,122 | 93.31% |
| Spanish | 2,281 | 1.85% | 3,956 | 2.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,345 | 1.90% | 2,841 | 2.07% |
| Asian Language** | 1,650 | 1.34% | 1,971 | 1.44% |
| Other | 140 | 0.11% | 413 | 0.30% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 123,281 | 100.00% | 137,303 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,159 | 29.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 715 | 25.17% |
| Asian Language** | 946 | 48.00% |
| Other Language | 120 | 29.06% |
| Total | 2,940 | 2.14% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 761 | 33.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 489 | 20.85% |
| Asian Language** | 848 | 51.39% |
| Other Language | 62 | 44.29% |
| Total | 2,160 | 1.75% |
* "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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