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 | 61,595 | 83.60% | 59,964 | 78.59% |
| Spanish | 9,161 | 12.43% | 12,173 | 15.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,297 | 3.12% | 3,529 | 4.63% |
| Asian Language** | 492 | 0.67% | 490 | 0.64% |
| Other | 131 | 0.18% | 145 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 73,676 | 100.00% | 76,301 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,189 | 42.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 974 | 27.60% |
| Asian Language** | 174 | 35.51% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 6,337 | 8.31% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,658 | 39.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 642 | 27.95% |
| Asian Language** | 203 | 41.26% |
| Other Language | 71 | 54.20% |
| Total | 4,574 | 6.21% |
* "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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