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 | 18,003 | 33.88% | 26,253 | 38.68% |
| Spanish | 3,807 | 7.16% | 3,865 | 5.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 434 | 0.82% | 239 | 0.35% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 0.24% | 233 | 0.34% |
| Other | 30,774 | 57.91% | 37,283 | 54.93% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 53,144 | 100.00% | 67,873 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,164 | 30.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 66 | 27.62% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 33.91% |
| Other Language | 13,290 | 35.65% |
| Total | 14,599 | 21.51% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,087 | 28.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 156 | 35.94% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 11.11% |
| Other Language | 13,208 | 42.92% |
| Total | 14,465 | 27.22% |
* "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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