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 | 53,534 | 92.97% | 51,896 | 91.64% |
| Spanish | 983 | 1.71% | 1,513 | 2.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,227 | 2.13% | 1,346 | 2.38% |
| Asian Language** | 1,399 | 2.43% | 1,376 | 2.43% |
| Other | 442 | 0.77% | 501 | 0.88% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 57,585 | 100.00% | 56,632 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 650 | 42.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 400 | 29.72% |
| Asian Language** | 759 | 55.16% |
| Other Language | 154 | 30.74% |
| Total | 1,963 | 3.47% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 421 | 42.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 356 | 29.01% |
| Asian Language** | 876 | 62.62% |
| Other Language | 146 | 33.03% |
| Total | 1,799 | 3.12% |
* "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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