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 | 148,954 | 91.88% | 157,582 | 91.85% |
| Spanish | 1,350 | 0.83% | 3,535 | 2.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10,362 | 6.39% | 8,618 | 5.02% |
| Asian Language** | 896 | 0.55% | 1,302 | 0.76% |
| Other | 551 | 0.34% | 530 | 0.31% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 162,113 | 100.00% | 171,567 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,244 | 35.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,547 | 29.55% |
| Asian Language** | 845 | 64.90% |
| Other Language | 137 | 25.85% |
| Total | 4,773 | 2.78% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 491 | 36.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,195 | 30.83% |
| Asian Language** | 485 | 54.13% |
| Other Language | 170 | 30.85% |
| Total | 4,341 | 2.68% |
* "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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