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 | 53,134 | 96.87% | 58,517 | 95.93% |
| Spanish | 565 | 1.03% | 997 | 1.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 257 | 0.47% | 442 | 0.72% |
| Asian Language** | 183 | 0.33% | 273 | 0.45% |
| Other | 711 | 1.30% | 772 | 1.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 54,850 | 100.00% | 61,001 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 327 | 32.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 74 | 16.74% |
| Asian Language** | 120 | 43.96% |
| Other Language | 223 | 28.89% |
| Total | 744 | 1.22% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 108 | 19.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 34 | 13.23% |
| Asian Language** | 87 | 47.54% |
| Other Language | 209 | 29.40% |
| Total | 438 | 0.80% |
* "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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