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 | 62,328 | 96.08% | 81,762 | 96.21% |
| Spanish | 512 | 0.79% | 1,296 | 1.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,731 | 2.67% | 1,621 | 1.91% |
| Asian Language** | 63 | 0.10% | 143 | 0.17% |
| Other | 239 | 0.37% | 159 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,873 | 100.00% | 84,981 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 515 | 39.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 495 | 30.54% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 26.57% |
| Other Language | 18 | 11.32% |
| Total | 1,066 | 1.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 168 | 32.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 366 | 21.14% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 12.70% |
| Other Language | 64 | 26.78% |
| Total | 606 | 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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