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 | 84,064 | 96.87% | 107,946 | 94.55% |
| Spanish | 1,428 | 1.65% | 4,133 | 3.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 955 | 1.10% | 1,100 | 0.96% |
| Asian Language** | 282 | 0.32% | 831 | 0.73% |
| Other | 54 | 0.06% | 163 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 86,783 | 100.00% | 114,173 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,464 | 59.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 356 | 32.36% |
| Asian Language** | 480 | 57.76% |
| Other Language | 84 | 51.53% |
| Total | 3,384 | 2.96% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 581 | 40.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 269 | 28.17% |
| Asian Language** | 131 | 46.45% |
| Other Language | 7 | 12.96% |
| Total | 988 | 1.14% |
* "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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