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 | 65,673 | 95.48% | 76,575 | 93.65% |
| Spanish | 1,222 | 1.78% | 2,554 | 3.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 852 | 1.24% | 877 | 1.07% |
| Asian Language** | 836 | 1.22% | 1,620 | 1.98% |
| Other | 200 | 0.29% | 145 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 68,783 | 100.00% | 81,771 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 955 | 37.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 199 | 22.69% |
| Asian Language** | 723 | 44.63% |
| Other Language | 17 | 11.72% |
| Total | 1,894 | 2.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 434 | 35.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 268 | 31.46% |
| Asian Language** | 399 | 47.73% |
| Other Language | 28 | 14.00% |
| Total | 1,129 | 1.64% |
* "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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