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 | 148,877 | 96.92% | 155,085 | 96.16% |
| Spanish | 1,531 | 1.00% | 2,573 | 1.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,423 | 1.58% | 2,359 | 1.46% |
| Asian Language** | 628 | 0.41% | 1,025 | 0.64% |
| Other | 143 | 0.09% | 242 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 153,602 | 100.00% | 161,284 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 846 | 32.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 656 | 27.81% |
| Asian Language** | 453 | 44.20% |
| Other Language | 75 | 30.99% |
| Total | 2,030 | 1.26% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 492 | 32.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 707 | 29.18% |
| Asian Language** | 379 | 60.35% |
| Other Language | 36 | 25.17% |
| Total | 1,614 | 1.05% |
* "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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