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 | 52,305 | 95.68% | 147,338 | 92.80% |
| Spanish | 941 | 1.72% | 4,056 | 2.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,049 | 1.92% | 4,272 | 2.69% |
| Asian Language** | 272 | 0.50% | 2,653 | 1.67% |
| Other | 102 | 0.19% | 454 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 54,669 | 100.00% | 158,773 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,059 | 26.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 832 | 19.48% |
| Asian Language** | 1,183 | 44.59% |
| Other Language | 148 | 32.60% |
| Total | 3,222 | 2.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 149 | 15.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 235 | 22.40% |
| Asian Language** | 142 | 52.21% |
| Other Language | 14 | 13.73% |
| Total | 540 | 0.99% |
* "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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