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 | 107,640 | 91.18% | 125,839 | 90.30% |
| Spanish | 3,966 | 3.36% | 7,435 | 5.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,758 | 4.88% | 4,871 | 3.50% |
| Asian Language** | 397 | 0.34% | 812 | 0.58% |
| Other | 296 | 0.25% | 401 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 118,057 | 100.00% | 139,358 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,843 | 38.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,417 | 29.09% |
| Asian Language** | 286 | 35.22% |
| Other Language | 144 | 35.91% |
| Total | 4,690 | 3.37% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,674 | 42.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,706 | 29.63% |
| Asian Language** | 168 | 42.32% |
| Other Language | 100 | 33.78% |
| Total | 3,648 | 3.09% |
* "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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