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 | 76,865 | 97.27% | 86,302 | 96.07% |
| Spanish | 921 | 1.17% | 1,862 | 2.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 778 | 0.98% | 1,098 | 1.22% |
| Asian Language** | 403 | 0.51% | 508 | 0.57% |
| Other | 59 | 0.07% | 65 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 79,026 | 100.00% | 89,835 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 819 | 43.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 357 | 32.51% |
| Asian Language** | 187 | 36.81% |
| Other Language | 12 | 18.46% |
| Total | 1,375 | 1.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 397 | 43.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 337 | 43.32% |
| Asian Language** | 212 | 52.61% |
| Other Language | 14 | 23.73% |
| Total | 960 | 1.21% |
* "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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