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 | 68,890 | 93.18% | 85,002 | 88.29% |
| Spanish | 2,992 | 4.05% | 8,255 | 8.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,414 | 1.91% | 1,758 | 1.83% |
| Asian Language** | 488 | 0.66% | 1,104 | 1.15% |
| Other | 151 | 0.20% | 158 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 73,935 | 100.00% | 96,277 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,964 | 60.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 542 | 30.83% |
| Asian Language** | 496 | 44.93% |
| Other Language | 67 | 42.41% |
| Total | 6,069 | 6.30% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,265 | 42.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 352 | 24.89% |
| Asian Language** | 194 | 39.75% |
| Other Language | 19 | 12.58% |
| Total | 1,830 | 2.48% |
* "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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