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 | 107,795 | 96.00% | 110,027 | 95.82% |
| Spanish | 996 | 0.89% | 1,957 | 1.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,081 | 2.74% | 2,449 | 2.13% |
| Asian Language** | 281 | 0.25% | 272 | 0.24% |
| Other | 131 | 0.12% | 125 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 112,284 | 100.00% | 114,830 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 635 | 32.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 661 | 26.99% |
| Asian Language** | 101 | 37.13% |
| Other Language | 19 | 15.20% |
| Total | 1,416 | 1.23% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 323 | 32.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 730 | 23.69% |
| Asian Language** | 139 | 49.47% |
| Other Language | 23 | 17.56% |
| Total | 1,215 | 1.08% |
* "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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