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 | 107,178 | 91.64% | 132,474 | 89.89% |
| Spanish | 5,425 | 4.64% | 9,470 | 6.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,565 | 2.19% | 3,284 | 2.23% |
| Asian Language** | 1,249 | 1.07% | 1,784 | 1.21% |
| Other | 533 | 0.46% | 356 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 116,950 | 100.00% | 147,368 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,290 | 45.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 705 | 21.47% |
| Asian Language** | 717 | 40.19% |
| Other Language | 77 | 21.63% |
| Total | 5,789 | 3.93% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,478 | 45.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 657 | 25.61% |
| Asian Language** | 527 | 42.19% |
| Other Language | 113 | 21.20% |
| Total | 3,775 | 3.23% |
* "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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