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 | 137,334 | 96.90% | 157,969 | 96.93% |
| Spanish | 994 | 0.70% | 1,545 | 0.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,906 | 2.05% | 2,715 | 1.67% |
| Asian Language** | 382 | 0.27% | 582 | 0.36% |
| Other | 111 | 0.08% | 161 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 141,727 | 100.00% | 162,972 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 415 | 26.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 499 | 18.38% |
| Asian Language** | 206 | 35.40% |
| Other Language | 23 | 14.29% |
| Total | 1,143 | 0.70% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 308 | 30.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 827 | 28.46% |
| Asian Language** | 145 | 37.96% |
| Other Language | 43 | 38.74% |
| Total | 1,323 | 0.93% |
* "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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