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 | 58,920 | 91.21% | 63,796 | 85.93% |
| Spanish | 4,768 | 7.38% | 9,588 | 12.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 717 | 1.11% | 418 | 0.56% |
| Asian Language** | 174 | 0.27% | 377 | 0.51% |
| Other | 19 | 0.03% | 64 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,598 | 100.00% | 74,243 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,290 | 44.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 108 | 25.84% |
| Asian Language** | 213 | 56.50% |
| Other Language | 51 | 79.69% |
| Total | 4,662 | 6.28% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,236 | 46.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 179 | 24.97% |
| Asian Language** | 64 | 36.78% |
| Other Language | 2 | 10.53% |
| Total | 2,481 | 3.84% |
* "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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