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 | 176,265 | 97.37% | 194,987 | 96.32% |
| Spanish | 1,800 | 0.99% | 3,441 | 1.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,269 | 1.25% | 2,666 | 1.32% |
| Asian Language** | 544 | 0.30% | 1,097 | 0.54% |
| Other | 154 | 0.09% | 244 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 181,032 | 100.00% | 202,435 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,147 | 33.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 638 | 23.93% |
| Asian Language** | 551 | 50.23% |
| Other Language | 71 | 29.10% |
| Total | 2,407 | 1.19% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 688 | 38.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 627 | 27.63% |
| Asian Language** | 236 | 43.38% |
| Other Language | 25 | 16.23% |
| Total | 1,576 | 0.87% |
* "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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