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 | 138,861 | 91.97% | 143,864 | 91.52% |
| Spanish | 1,335 | 0.88% | 2,902 | 1.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9,799 | 6.49% | 8,396 | 5.34% |
| Asian Language** | 773 | 0.51% | 1,510 | 0.96% |
| Other | 213 | 0.14% | 519 | 0.33% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 150,981 | 100.00% | 157,191 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 921 | 31.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,298 | 27.37% |
| Asian Language** | 700 | 46.36% |
| Other Language | 183 | 35.26% |
| Total | 4,102 | 2.61% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 339 | 25.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,999 | 30.61% |
| Asian Language** | 291 | 37.65% |
| Other Language | 36 | 16.90% |
| Total | 3,665 | 2.43% |
* "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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