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 | 88,977 | 97.25% | 88,938 | 97.25% |
| Spanish | 821 | 0.90% | 921 | 1.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,219 | 1.33% | 814 | 0.89% |
| Asian Language** | 270 | 0.30% | 546 | 0.60% |
| Other | 204 | 0.22% | 232 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 91,491 | 100.00% | 91,451 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 285 | 30.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 21.74% |
| Asian Language** | 201 | 36.81% |
| Other Language | 48 | 20.69% |
| Total | 711 | 0.78% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 247 | 30.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 392 | 32.16% |
| Asian Language** | 95 | 35.19% |
| Other Language | 27 | 13.24% |
| Total | 761 | 0.83% |
* "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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