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 | 66,593 | 96.31% | 74,842 | 94.21% |
| Spanish | 913 | 1.32% | 1,729 | 2.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,050 | 1.52% | 1,612 | 2.03% |
| Asian Language** | 457 | 0.66% | 1,105 | 1.39% |
| Other | 129 | 0.19% | 156 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,142 | 100.00% | 79,444 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 971 | 56.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 565 | 35.05% |
| Asian Language** | 747 | 67.60% |
| Other Language | 41 | 26.28% |
| Total | 2,324 | 2.93% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 327 | 35.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 287 | 27.33% |
| Asian Language** | 265 | 57.99% |
| Other Language | 45 | 34.88% |
| Total | 924 | 1.34% |
* "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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