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 | 124,028 | 96.13% | 140,883 | 94.04% |
| Spanish | 1,246 | 0.97% | 3,697 | 2.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,297 | 1.78% | 2,074 | 1.38% |
| Asian Language** | 1,234 | 0.96% | 2,824 | 1.89% |
| Other | 220 | 0.17% | 331 | 0.22% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 129,025 | 100.00% | 149,809 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,710 | 46.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 470 | 22.66% |
| Asian Language** | 1,687 | 59.74% |
| Other Language | 58 | 17.52% |
| Total | 3,925 | 2.62% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 479 | 38.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 597 | 25.99% |
| Asian Language** | 894 | 72.45% |
| Other Language | 52 | 23.64% |
| Total | 2,022 | 1.57% |
* "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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