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 | 64,581 | 92.41% | 68,719 | 90.65% |
| Spanish | 957 | 1.37% | 1,828 | 2.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,713 | 2.45% | 2,058 | 2.71% |
| Asian Language** | 2,196 | 3.14% | 2,718 | 3.59% |
| Other | 438 | 0.63% | 488 | 0.64% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,885 | 100.00% | 75,811 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 591 | 32.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 450 | 21.87% |
| Asian Language** | 1,630 | 59.97% |
| Other Language | 150 | 30.74% |
| Total | 2,821 | 3.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 354 | 36.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 458 | 26.74% |
| Asian Language** | 1,388 | 63.21% |
| Other Language | 109 | 24.89% |
| Total | 2,309 | 3.30% |
* "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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