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 | 75,215 | 95.05% | 82,293 | 93.85% |
| Spanish | 608 | 0.77% | 1,385 | 1.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,656 | 2.09% | 1,828 | 2.08% |
| Asian Language** | 1,580 | 2.00% | 2,030 | 2.32% |
| Other | 76 | 0.10% | 146 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 79,135 | 100.00% | 87,682 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 436 | 31.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 531 | 29.05% |
| Asian Language** | 862 | 42.46% |
| Other Language | 74 | 50.68% |
| Total | 1,903 | 2.17% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 223 | 36.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 560 | 33.82% |
| Asian Language** | 1,088 | 68.86% |
| Other Language | 12 | 15.79% |
| Total | 1,883 | 2.38% |
* "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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