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 | 102,095 | 97.12% | 139,723 | 95.73% |
| Spanish | 1,072 | 1.02% | 2,200 | 1.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,408 | 1.34% | 2,498 | 1.71% |
| Asian Language** | 443 | 0.42% | 1,245 | 0.85% |
| Other | 101 | 0.10% | 295 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 105,119 | 100.00% | 145,961 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 744 | 33.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 553 | 22.14% |
| Asian Language** | 570 | 45.78% |
| Other Language | 61 | 20.68% |
| Total | 1,928 | 1.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 333 | 31.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 383 | 27.20% |
| Asian Language** | 192 | 43.34% |
| Other Language | 23 | 22.77% |
| Total | 931 | 0.89% |
* "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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