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 | 75,950 | 77.92% | 81,607 | 83.58% |
| Spanish | 413 | 0.42% | 801 | 0.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 20,720 | 21.26% | 14,900 | 15.26% |
| Asian Language** | 290 | 0.30% | 299 | 0.31% |
| Other | 105 | 0.11% | 36 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 97,478 | 100.00% | 97,643 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 290 | 36.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,632 | 24.38% |
| Asian Language** | 83 | 27.76% |
| Other Language | 5 | 13.89% |
| Total | 4,010 | 4.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 109 | 26.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,803 | 28.01% |
| Asian Language** | 162 | 55.86% |
| Other Language | 4 | 3.81% |
| Total | 6,078 | 6.24% |
* "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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