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 | 122,714 | 88.56% | 128,539 | 88.28% |
| Spanish | 3,253 | 2.35% | 4,958 | 3.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,940 | 6.45% | 7,898 | 5.42% |
| Asian Language** | 3,218 | 2.32% | 3,373 | 2.32% |
| Other | 441 | 0.32% | 831 | 0.57% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 138,566 | 100.00% | 145,599 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,435 | 28.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,643 | 20.80% |
| Asian Language** | 1,301 | 38.57% |
| Other Language | 68 | 8.18% |
| Total | 4,447 | 3.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,137 | 34.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,221 | 24.84% |
| Asian Language** | 1,743 | 54.16% |
| Other Language | 45 | 10.20% |
| Total | 5,146 | 3.71% |
* "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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