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 | 56,161 | 96.90% | 59,571 | 94.22% |
| Spanish | 819 | 1.41% | 2,320 | 3.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 695 | 1.20% | 809 | 1.28% |
| Asian Language** | 185 | 0.32% | 415 | 0.66% |
| Other | 97 | 0.17% | 109 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 57,957 | 100.00% | 63,224 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 938 | 40.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 167 | 20.64% |
| Asian Language** | 218 | 52.53% |
| Other Language | 36 | 33.03% |
| Total | 1,359 | 2.15% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 279 | 34.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 149 | 21.44% |
| Asian Language** | 71 | 38.38% |
| Other Language | 49 | 50.52% |
| Total | 548 | 0.95% |
* "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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