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 | 44,094 | 84.28% | 43,268 | 78.11% |
| Spanish | 4,015 | 7.67% | 7,258 | 13.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 930 | 1.78% | 1,111 | 2.01% |
| Asian Language** | 3,123 | 5.97% | 3,709 | 6.70% |
| Other | 157 | 0.30% | 48 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 52,319 | 100.00% | 55,394 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,934 | 54.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 314 | 28.26% |
| Asian Language** | 2,101 | 56.65% |
| Other Language | 8 | 16.67% |
| Total | 6,357 | 11.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,783 | 44.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 234 | 25.16% |
| Asian Language** | 2,038 | 65.26% |
| Other Language | 61 | 38.85% |
| Total | 4,116 | 7.87% |
* "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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