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 | 51,703 | 87.80% | 58,506 | 84.73% |
| Spanish | 3,991 | 6.78% | 6,906 | 10.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,973 | 3.35% | 2,185 | 3.16% |
| Asian Language** | 1,099 | 1.87% | 1,307 | 1.89% |
| Other | 124 | 0.21% | 142 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 58,890 | 100.00% | 69,046 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,456 | 21.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 342 | 15.65% |
| Asian Language** | 461 | 35.27% |
| Other Language | 21 | 14.79% |
| Total | 2,280 | 3.30% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,305 | 32.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 426 | 21.59% |
| Asian Language** | 635 | 57.78% |
| Other Language | 52 | 41.94% |
| Total | 2,418 | 4.11% |
* "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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