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 | 54,606 | 93.94% | 57,085 | 94.13% |
| Spanish | 1,454 | 2.50% | 1,792 | 2.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,888 | 3.25% | 1,488 | 2.45% |
| Asian Language** | 83 | 0.14% | 186 | 0.31% |
| Other | 95 | 0.16% | 92 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 58,126 | 100.00% | 60,643 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 702 | 39.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 386 | 25.94% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 42.47% |
| Other Language | 27 | 29.35% |
| Total | 1,194 | 1.97% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 539 | 37.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 324 | 17.16% |
| Asian Language** | 18 | 21.69% |
| Other Language | 39 | 41.05% |
| Total | 920 | 1.58% |
* "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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