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 | 84,264 | 97.28% | 89,771 | 97.11% |
| Spanish | 760 | 0.88% | 1,127 | 1.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,132 | 1.31% | 944 | 1.02% |
| Asian Language** | 430 | 0.50% | 524 | 0.57% |
| Other | 36 | 0.04% | 78 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 86,622 | 100.00% | 92,444 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 332 | 29.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 278 | 29.45% |
| Asian Language** | 272 | 51.91% |
| Other Language | 3 | 3.85% |
| Total | 885 | 0.96% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 225 | 29.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 235 | 20.76% |
| Asian Language** | 293 | 68.14% |
| Other Language | 9 | 25.00% |
| Total | 762 | 0.88% |
* "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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