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 | 67,349 | 97.58% | 78,630 | 95.60% |
| Spanish | 838 | 1.21% | 2,155 | 2.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 728 | 1.05% | 1,069 | 1.30% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 0.08% | 286 | 0.35% |
| Other | 45 | 0.07% | 106 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,018 | 100.00% | 82,246 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 961 | 44.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 363 | 33.96% |
| Asian Language** | 201 | 70.28% |
| Other Language | 22 | 20.75% |
| Total | 1,547 | 1.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 414 | 49.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 344 | 47.25% |
| Asian Language** | 36 | 62.07% |
| Other Language | 22 | 48.89% |
| Total | 816 | 1.18% |
* "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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