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 | 63,170 | 97.24% | 66,902 | 97.20% |
| Spanish | 891 | 1.37% | 828 | 1.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 595 | 0.92% | 769 | 1.12% |
| Asian Language** | 261 | 0.40% | 164 | 0.24% |
| Other | 49 | 0.08% | 163 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,966 | 100.00% | 68,826 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 279 | 33.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 209 | 27.18% |
| Asian Language** | 96 | 58.54% |
| Other Language | 27 | 16.56% |
| Total | 611 | 0.89% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 365 | 40.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 21.34% |
| Asian Language** | 143 | 54.79% |
| Other Language | 17 | 34.69% |
| Total | 652 | 1.00% |
* "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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