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 | 17,197 | 31.83% | 24,175 | 38.25% |
| Spanish | 1,235 | 2.29% | 1,713 | 2.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 0.20% | 203 | 0.32% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 0.03% | 54 | 0.09% |
| Other | 35,478 | 65.66% | 37,057 | 58.63% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 54,033 | 100.00% | 63,202 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 476 | 27.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 38 | 18.72% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 9.26% |
| Other Language | 14,762 | 39.84% |
| Total | 15,281 | 24.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 291 | 23.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 33 | 31.13% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 17,933 | 50.55% |
| Total | 18,274 | 33.82% |
* "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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