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 | 52,585 | 95.46% | 60,100 | 93.64% |
| Spanish | 968 | 1.76% | 2,892 | 4.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,041 | 1.89% | 835 | 1.30% |
| Asian Language** | 282 | 0.51% | 251 | 0.39% |
| Other | 209 | 0.38% | 105 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 55,085 | 100.00% | 64,183 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,555 | 53.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 234 | 28.02% |
| Asian Language** | 109 | 43.43% |
| Other Language | 24 | 22.86% |
| Total | 1,922 | 2.99% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 343 | 35.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 17.00% |
| Asian Language** | 127 | 45.04% |
| Other Language | 48 | 22.97% |
| Total | 695 | 1.26% |
* "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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