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 | 68,037 | 95.30% | 71,193 | 94.92% |
| Spanish | 685 | 0.96% | 1,286 | 1.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,754 | 2.46% | 1,796 | 2.39% |
| Asian Language** | 639 | 0.90% | 442 | 0.59% |
| Other | 275 | 0.39% | 285 | 0.38% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 71,390 | 100.00% | 75,002 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 330 | 25.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 547 | 30.46% |
| Asian Language** | 154 | 34.84% |
| Other Language | 90 | 31.58% |
| Total | 1,121 | 1.49% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 170 | 24.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 549 | 31.30% |
| Asian Language** | 210 | 32.86% |
| Other Language | 48 | 17.45% |
| Total | 977 | 1.37% |
* "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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