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 | 82,584 | 91.83% | 93,749 | 89.49% |
| Spanish | 1,303 | 1.45% | 3,286 | 3.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,079 | 3.42% | 3,725 | 3.56% |
| Asian Language** | 2,525 | 2.81% | 3,156 | 3.01% |
| Other | 442 | 0.49% | 845 | 0.81% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 89,933 | 100.00% | 104,761 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,097 | 33.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 958 | 25.72% |
| Asian Language** | 1,461 | 46.29% |
| Other Language | 287 | 33.96% |
| Total | 3,803 | 3.63% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 391 | 30.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 875 | 28.42% |
| Asian Language** | 1,372 | 54.34% |
| Other Language | 139 | 31.45% |
| Total | 2,777 | 3.09% |
* "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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