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 | 93,098 | 92.98% | 104,053 | 91.38% |
| Spanish | 1,441 | 1.44% | 2,750 | 2.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,393 | 4.39% | 5,598 | 4.92% |
| Asian Language** | 676 | 0.68% | 1,160 | 1.02% |
| Other | 524 | 0.52% | 305 | 0.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 100,132 | 100.00% | 113,866 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 989 | 35.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,092 | 19.51% |
| Asian Language** | 380 | 32.76% |
| Other Language | 45 | 14.75% |
| Total | 2,506 | 2.20% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 494 | 34.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,024 | 23.31% |
| Asian Language** | 245 | 36.24% |
| Other Language | 116 | 22.14% |
| Total | 1,879 | 1.88% |
* "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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