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 | 48,277 | 96.41% | 59,122 | 90.29% |
| Spanish | 742 | 1.48% | 4,290 | 6.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 579 | 1.16% | 1,152 | 1.76% |
| Asian Language** | 373 | 0.74% | 830 | 1.27% |
| Other | 104 | 0.21% | 86 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 50,075 | 100.00% | 65,480 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,680 | 62.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 211 | 18.32% |
| Asian Language** | 449 | 54.10% |
| Other Language | 9 | 10.47% |
| Total | 3,349 | 5.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 260 | 35.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 61 | 10.54% |
| Asian Language** | 315 | 84.45% |
| Other Language | 31 | 29.81% |
| Total | 667 | 1.33% |
* "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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