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 | 57,546 | 96.79% | 59,087 | 96.82% |
| Spanish | 547 | 0.92% | 641 | 1.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,162 | 1.95% | 1,068 | 1.75% |
| Asian Language** | 149 | 0.25% | 141 | 0.23% |
| Other | 51 | 0.09% | 91 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 59,455 | 100.00% | 61,028 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 238 | 37.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 308 | 28.84% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 37.59% |
| Other Language | 42 | 46.15% |
| Total | 641 | 1.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 136 | 24.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 313 | 26.94% |
| Asian Language** | 27 | 18.12% |
| Other Language | 19 | 37.25% |
| Total | 495 | 0.83% |
* "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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