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 | 66,700 | 96.61% | 66,809 | 97.51% |
| Spanish | 477 | 0.69% | 546 | 0.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,661 | 2.41% | 934 | 1.36% |
| Asian Language** | 101 | 0.15% | 140 | 0.20% |
| Other | 101 | 0.15% | 84 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,040 | 100.00% | 68,513 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 204 | 37.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 233 | 24.95% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 31.43% |
| Other Language | 29 | 34.52% |
| Total | 510 | 0.74% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 167 | 35.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 539 | 32.45% |
| Asian Language** | 54 | 53.47% |
| Other Language | 12 | 11.88% |
| Total | 772 | 1.12% |
* "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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