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 | 72,218 | 97.05% | 85,120 | 97.44% |
| Spanish | 680 | 0.91% | 1,095 | 1.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,460 | 1.96% | 882 | 1.01% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 0.08% | 251 | 0.29% |
| Other | 2 | 0.00% | 11 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 74,417 | 100.00% | 87,359 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 385 | 35.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 168 | 19.05% |
| Asian Language** | 142 | 56.57% |
| Other Language | 3 | 27.27% |
| Total | 698 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 241 | 35.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 504 | 34.52% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 54.39% |
| Other Language | 2 | 100.00% |
| Total | 778 | 1.05% |
* "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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