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 | 54,768 | 93.42% | 55,726 | 93.31% |
| Spanish | 995 | 1.70% | 1,256 | 2.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,669 | 4.55% | 2,541 | 4.25% |
| Asian Language** | 68 | 0.12% | 117 | 0.20% |
| Other | 126 | 0.21% | 82 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 58,626 | 100.00% | 59,722 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 406 | 32.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 792 | 31.17% |
| Asian Language** | 35 | 29.91% |
| Other Language | 39 | 47.56% |
| Total | 1,272 | 2.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 396 | 39.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 885 | 33.16% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 35.29% |
| Other Language | 46 | 36.51% |
| Total | 1,351 | 2.30% |
* "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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