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 | 82,880 | 87.32% | 90,483 | 88.32% |
| Spanish | 3,365 | 3.55% | 6,034 | 5.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,669 | 8.08% | 5,052 | 4.93% |
| Asian Language** | 587 | 0.62% | 529 | 0.52% |
| Other | 412 | 0.43% | 354 | 0.35% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 94,913 | 100.00% | 102,452 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,395 | 39.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,230 | 24.35% |
| Asian Language** | 271 | 51.23% |
| Other Language | 77 | 21.75% |
| Total | 3,973 | 3.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,402 | 41.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,311 | 30.13% |
| Asian Language** | 250 | 42.59% |
| Other Language | 164 | 39.81% |
| Total | 4,127 | 4.35% |
* "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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