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 | 83,082 | 96.32% | 92,353 | 95.06% |
| Spanish | 1,245 | 1.44% | 1,976 | 2.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,483 | 1.72% | 1,636 | 1.68% |
| Asian Language** | 229 | 0.27% | 865 | 0.89% |
| Other | 218 | 0.25% | 318 | 0.33% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 86,257 | 100.00% | 97,148 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 616 | 31.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 386 | 23.59% |
| Asian Language** | 329 | 38.03% |
| Other Language | 108 | 33.96% |
| Total | 1,439 | 1.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 359 | 28.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 382 | 25.76% |
| Asian Language** | 109 | 47.60% |
| Other Language | 54 | 24.77% |
| Total | 904 | 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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