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 | 111,499 | 94.59% | 130,288 | 93.59% |
| Spanish | 2,191 | 1.86% | 3,542 | 2.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,384 | 2.02% | 3,009 | 2.16% |
| Asian Language** | 1,405 | 1.19% | 1,893 | 1.36% |
| Other | 401 | 0.34% | 481 | 0.35% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 117,880 | 100.00% | 139,213 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,262 | 35.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 702 | 23.33% |
| Asian Language** | 878 | 46.38% |
| Other Language | 114 | 23.70% |
| Total | 2,956 | 2.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 723 | 33.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 487 | 20.43% |
| Asian Language** | 656 | 46.69% |
| Other Language | 136 | 33.92% |
| Total | 2,002 | 1.70% |
* "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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