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 | 134,790 | 97.12% | 136,787 | 95.98% |
| Spanish | 1,686 | 1.21% | 2,733 | 1.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,662 | 1.20% | 1,563 | 1.10% |
| Asian Language** | 572 | 0.41% | 1,227 | 0.86% |
| Other | 80 | 0.06% | 209 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 138,790 | 100.00% | 142,519 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,147 | 41.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 523 | 33.46% |
| Asian Language** | 503 | 40.99% |
| Other Language | 22 | 10.53% |
| Total | 2,195 | 1.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 605 | 35.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 457 | 27.50% |
| Asian Language** | 278 | 48.60% |
| Other Language | 9 | 11.25% |
| Total | 1,349 | 0.97% |
* "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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