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 | 52,103 | 94.71% | 55,648 | 96.58% |
| Spanish | 1,288 | 2.34% | 794 | 1.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,482 | 2.69% | 965 | 1.67% |
| Asian Language** | 47 | 0.09% | 132 | 0.23% |
| Other | 92 | 0.17% | 80 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 55,012 | 100.00% | 57,619 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 358 | 45.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 208 | 21.55% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 15 | 18.75% |
| Total | 647 | 1.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 543 | 42.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 370 | 24.97% |
| Asian Language** | 27 | 57.45% |
| Other Language | 14 | 15.22% |
| Total | 954 | 1.73% |
* "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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