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 | 64,527 | 92.59% | 70,244 | 92.18% |
| Spanish | 1,412 | 2.03% | 1,951 | 2.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,509 | 2.17% | 1,386 | 1.82% |
| Asian Language** | 1,208 | 1.73% | 1,601 | 2.10% |
| Other | 1,034 | 1.48% | 1,018 | 1.34% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,690 | 100.00% | 76,200 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 476 | 24.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 373 | 26.91% |
| Asian Language** | 802 | 50.09% |
| Other Language | 287 | 28.19% |
| Total | 1,938 | 2.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 372 | 26.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 291 | 19.28% |
| Asian Language** | 584 | 48.34% |
| Other Language | 301 | 29.11% |
| Total | 1,548 | 2.22% |
* "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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