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 | 103,714 | 93.72% | 109,493 | 91.69% |
| Spanish | 2,417 | 2.18% | 5,442 | 4.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,748 | 2.48% | 2,567 | 2.15% |
| Asian Language** | 1,410 | 1.27% | 1,276 | 1.07% |
| Other | 380 | 0.34% | 645 | 0.54% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 110,669 | 100.00% | 119,423 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,142 | 39.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 581 | 22.63% |
| Asian Language** | 643 | 50.39% |
| Other Language | 172 | 26.67% |
| Total | 3,538 | 2.96% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 791 | 32.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 794 | 28.89% |
| Asian Language** | 929 | 65.89% |
| Other Language | 104 | 27.37% |
| Total | 2,618 | 2.37% |
* "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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