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 | 143,364 | 94.26% | 164,142 | 93.33% |
| Spanish | 2,225 | 1.46% | 4,521 | 2.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,930 | 1.93% | 2,679 | 1.52% |
| Asian Language** | 3,461 | 2.28% | 4,271 | 2.43% |
| Other | 109 | 0.07% | 255 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 152,089 | 100.00% | 175,868 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,451 | 32.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 587 | 21.91% |
| Asian Language** | 2,094 | 49.03% |
| Other Language | 96 | 37.65% |
| Total | 4,228 | 2.40% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 777 | 34.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 891 | 30.41% |
| Asian Language** | 1,718 | 49.64% |
| Other Language | 15 | 13.76% |
| Total | 3,401 | 2.24% |
* "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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