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 | 140,042 | 93.45% | 176,672 | 90.76% |
| Spanish | 2,610 | 1.74% | 5,373 | 2.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,387 | 2.26% | 4,526 | 2.33% |
| Asian Language** | 3,575 | 2.39% | 7,729 | 3.97% |
| Other | 245 | 0.16% | 357 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 149,859 | 100.00% | 194,657 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,914 | 35.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 911 | 20.13% |
| Asian Language** | 3,906 | 50.54% |
| Other Language | 105 | 29.41% |
| Total | 6,836 | 3.51% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 713 | 27.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 727 | 21.46% |
| Asian Language** | 1,780 | 49.79% |
| Other Language | 48 | 19.59% |
| Total | 3,268 | 2.18% |
* "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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