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 | 75,594 | 97.71% | 79,921 | 96.83% |
| Spanish | 587 | 0.76% | 1,308 | 1.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 978 | 1.26% | 969 | 1.17% |
| Asian Language** | 180 | 0.23% | 261 | 0.32% |
| Other | 30 | 0.04% | 77 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 77,369 | 100.00% | 82,536 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 594 | 45.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 288 | 29.72% |
| Asian Language** | 110 | 42.15% |
| Other Language | 8 | 10.39% |
| Total | 1,000 | 1.21% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 209 | 35.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 228 | 23.31% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 32.22% |
| Other Language | 19 | 63.33% |
| Total | 514 | 0.66% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy