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 | 78,816 | 97.72% | 96,438 | 96.77% |
| Spanish | 648 | 0.80% | 1,325 | 1.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 652 | 0.81% | 1,180 | 1.18% |
| Asian Language** | 351 | 0.44% | 572 | 0.57% |
| Other | 188 | 0.23% | 147 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 80,655 | 100.00% | 99,662 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 370 | 27.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 240 | 20.34% |
| Asian Language** | 435 | 76.05% |
| Other Language | 62 | 42.18% |
| Total | 1,107 | 1.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 206 | 31.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 206 | 31.60% |
| Asian Language** | 150 | 42.74% |
| Other Language | 9 | 4.79% |
| Total | 571 | 0.71% |
* "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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