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 | 59,946 | 94.60% | 67,834 | 91.36% |
| Spanish | 796 | 1.26% | 2,182 | 2.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,559 | 2.46% | 2,473 | 3.33% |
| Asian Language** | 974 | 1.54% | 1,554 | 2.09% |
| Other | 92 | 0.15% | 207 | 0.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 63,367 | 100.00% | 74,250 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 970 | 44.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 658 | 26.61% |
| Asian Language** | 725 | 46.65% |
| Other Language | 85 | 41.06% |
| Total | 2,438 | 3.28% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 292 | 36.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 330 | 21.17% |
| Asian Language** | 415 | 42.61% |
| Other Language | 29 | 31.52% |
| Total | 1,066 | 1.68% |
* "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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