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 | 55,933 | 87.07% | 59,786 | 85.77% |
| Spanish | 3,497 | 5.44% | 5,133 | 7.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,993 | 6.22% | 3,990 | 5.72% |
| Asian Language** | 424 | 0.66% | 510 | 0.73% |
| Other | 391 | 0.61% | 288 | 0.41% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,238 | 100.00% | 69,707 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,208 | 43.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,353 | 33.91% |
| Asian Language** | 328 | 64.31% |
| Other Language | 67 | 23.26% |
| Total | 3,956 | 5.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,394 | 39.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,325 | 33.18% |
| Asian Language** | 264 | 62.26% |
| Other Language | 118 | 30.18% |
| Total | 3,101 | 4.83% |
* "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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