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 | 57,350 | 94.67% | 76,346 | 91.83% |
| Spanish | 800 | 1.32% | 2,281 | 2.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,669 | 2.76% | 2,477 | 2.98% |
| Asian Language** | 700 | 1.16% | 1,848 | 2.22% |
| Other | 61 | 0.10% | 183 | 0.22% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 60,580 | 100.00% | 83,135 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 813 | 35.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 483 | 19.50% |
| Asian Language** | 665 | 35.98% |
| Other Language | 23 | 12.57% |
| Total | 1,984 | 2.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 396 | 49.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 355 | 21.27% |
| Asian Language** | 350 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 29 | 47.54% |
| Total | 1,130 | 1.87% |
* "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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