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 | 74,458 | 97.72% | 76,871 | 97.33% |
| Spanish | 756 | 0.99% | 753 | 0.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 778 | 1.02% | 1,009 | 1.28% |
| Asian Language** | 152 | 0.20% | 323 | 0.41% |
| Other | 50 | 0.07% | 26 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 76,194 | 100.00% | 78,982 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 252 | 33.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 295 | 29.24% |
| Asian Language** | 189 | 58.51% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 736 | 0.93% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 163 | 21.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 277 | 35.60% |
| Asian Language** | 65 | 42.76% |
| Other Language | 30 | 60.00% |
| Total | 535 | 0.70% |
* "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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