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 | 79,413 | 96.99% | 102,881 | 96.49% |
| Spanish | 982 | 1.20% | 1,828 | 1.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 988 | 1.21% | 1,299 | 1.22% |
| Asian Language** | 451 | 0.55% | 522 | 0.49% |
| Other | 45 | 0.05% | 95 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 81,879 | 100.00% | 106,625 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 555 | 30.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 282 | 21.71% |
| Asian Language** | 222 | 42.53% |
| Other Language | 26 | 27.37% |
| Total | 1,085 | 1.02% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 344 | 35.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 233 | 23.58% |
| Asian Language** | 305 | 67.63% |
| Other Language | 21 | 46.67% |
| Total | 903 | 1.10% |
* "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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