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 | 122,026 | 91.27% | 131,757 | 90.53% |
| Spanish | 2,166 | 1.62% | 3,807 | 2.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,409 | 6.29% | 8,283 | 5.69% |
| Asian Language** | 759 | 0.57% | 1,237 | 0.85% |
| Other | 345 | 0.26% | 461 | 0.32% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 133,705 | 100.00% | 145,545 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,189 | 31.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,561 | 30.92% |
| Asian Language** | 527 | 42.60% |
| Other Language | 137 | 29.72% |
| Total | 4,414 | 3.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 657 | 30.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,547 | 30.29% |
| Asian Language** | 310 | 40.84% |
| Other Language | 81 | 23.48% |
| Total | 3,595 | 2.69% |
* "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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