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 | 86,421 | 96.45% | 84,060 | 94.75% |
| Spanish | 1,042 | 1.16% | 1,805 | 2.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,326 | 1.48% | 1,549 | 1.75% |
| Asian Language** | 642 | 0.72% | 876 | 0.99% |
| Other | 168 | 0.19% | 431 | 0.49% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 89,599 | 100.00% | 88,721 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 725 | 40.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 639 | 41.25% |
| Asian Language** | 449 | 51.26% |
| Other Language | 187 | 43.39% |
| Total | 2,000 | 2.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 466 | 44.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 383 | 28.88% |
| Asian Language** | 406 | 63.24% |
| Other Language | 23 | 13.69% |
| Total | 1,278 | 1.43% |
* "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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