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 | 65,532 | 97.51% | 64,057 | 95.99% |
| Spanish | 858 | 1.28% | 1,285 | 1.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 652 | 0.97% | 900 | 1.35% |
| Asian Language** | 78 | 0.12% | 367 | 0.55% |
| Other | 86 | 0.13% | 126 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 67,206 | 100.00% | 66,735 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 632 | 49.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 260 | 28.89% |
| Asian Language** | 120 | 32.70% |
| Other Language | 34 | 26.98% |
| Total | 1,046 | 1.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 312 | 36.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 248 | 38.04% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 48.72% |
| Other Language | 24 | 27.91% |
| Total | 622 | 0.93% |
* "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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