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 | 103,572 | 93.27% | 119,976 | 93.56% |
| Spanish | 699 | 0.63% | 1,443 | 1.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,385 | 5.75% | 5,770 | 4.50% |
| Asian Language** | 237 | 0.21% | 744 | 0.58% |
| Other | 155 | 0.14% | 302 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 111,048 | 100.00% | 128,235 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 455 | 31.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,516 | 26.27% |
| Asian Language** | 346 | 46.51% |
| Other Language | 72 | 23.84% |
| Total | 2,389 | 1.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 275 | 39.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,657 | 25.95% |
| Asian Language** | 102 | 43.04% |
| Other Language | 36 | 23.23% |
| Total | 2,070 | 1.86% |
* "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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