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 | 54,631 | 97.75% | 76,937 | 95.99% |
| Spanish | 547 | 0.98% | 2,033 | 2.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 538 | 0.96% | 613 | 0.76% |
| Asian Language** | 151 | 0.27% | 374 | 0.47% |
| Other | 24 | 0.04% | 196 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 55,891 | 100.00% | 80,153 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 761 | 37.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 71 | 11.58% |
| Asian Language** | 166 | 44.39% |
| Other Language | 57 | 29.08% |
| Total | 1,055 | 1.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 192 | 35.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 215 | 39.96% |
| Asian Language** | 73 | 48.34% |
| Other Language | 6 | 25.00% |
| Total | 486 | 0.87% |
* "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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