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 | 51,365 | 95.65% | 64,895 | 94.44% |
| Spanish | 814 | 1.52% | 1,551 | 2.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 987 | 1.84% | 1,165 | 1.70% |
| Asian Language** | 469 | 0.87% | 836 | 1.22% |
| Other | 64 | 0.12% | 270 | 0.39% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 53,699 | 100.00% | 68,717 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 612 | 39.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 260 | 22.32% |
| Asian Language** | 497 | 59.45% |
| Other Language | 88 | 32.59% |
| Total | 1,457 | 2.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 399 | 49.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 285 | 28.88% |
| Asian Language** | 194 | 41.36% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 878 | 1.64% |
* "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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