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 | 192,299 | 93.43% | 190,894 | 94.40% |
| Spanish | 1,317 | 0.64% | 3,156 | 1.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,211 | 5.45% | 6,955 | 3.44% |
| Asian Language** | 679 | 0.33% | 800 | 0.40% |
| Other | 314 | 0.15% | 405 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 205,820 | 100.00% | 202,210 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,085 | 34.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,924 | 27.66% |
| Asian Language** | 434 | 54.25% |
| Other Language | 111 | 27.41% |
| Total | 3,554 | 1.76% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 432 | 32.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,976 | 26.55% |
| Asian Language** | 370 | 54.49% |
| Other Language | 65 | 20.70% |
| Total | 3,843 | 1.87% |
* "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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