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 | 98,073 | 93.76% | 118,117 | 92.90% |
| Spanish | 1,679 | 1.61% | 2,692 | 2.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,100 | 2.01% | 2,995 | 2.36% |
| Asian Language** | 2,247 | 2.15% | 2,472 | 1.94% |
| Other | 500 | 0.48% | 867 | 0.68% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 104,599 | 100.00% | 127,143 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 919 | 34.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 676 | 22.57% |
| Asian Language** | 1,331 | 53.84% |
| Other Language | 189 | 21.80% |
| Total | 3,115 | 2.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 387 | 23.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 477 | 22.71% |
| Asian Language** | 1,449 | 64.49% |
| Other Language | 81 | 16.20% |
| Total | 2,394 | 2.29% |
* "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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