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 | 163,471 | 93.65% | 173,207 | 93.42% |
| Spanish | 3,722 | 2.13% | 5,566 | 3.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,480 | 2.57% | 4,027 | 2.17% |
| Asian Language** | 2,634 | 1.51% | 2,136 | 1.15% |
| Other | 245 | 0.14% | 478 | 0.26% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 174,552 | 100.00% | 185,414 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,840 | 33.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 982 | 24.39% |
| Asian Language** | 978 | 45.79% |
| Other Language | 112 | 23.43% |
| Total | 3,912 | 2.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,212 | 32.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,066 | 23.79% |
| Asian Language** | 1,316 | 49.96% |
| Other Language | 63 | 25.71% |
| Total | 3,657 | 2.10% |
* "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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