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 | 129,368 | 96.16% | 146,860 | 95.92% |
| Spanish | 1,187 | 0.88% | 2,154 | 1.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,421 | 2.54% | 3,290 | 2.15% |
| Asian Language** | 184 | 0.14% | 364 | 0.24% |
| Other | 378 | 0.28% | 437 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 134,538 | 100.00% | 153,105 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 837 | 38.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 804 | 24.44% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 35.44% |
| Other Language | 180 | 41.19% |
| Total | 1,950 | 1.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 304 | 25.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 832 | 24.32% |
| Asian Language** | 59 | 32.07% |
| Other Language | 99 | 26.19% |
| Total | 1,294 | 0.96% |
* "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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