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 | 66,509 | 89.06% | 67,987 | 83.86% |
| Spanish | 5,945 | 7.96% | 10,656 | 13.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,514 | 2.03% | 1,582 | 1.95% |
| Asian Language** | 388 | 0.52% | 539 | 0.66% |
| Other | 319 | 0.43% | 311 | 0.38% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 74,675 | 100.00% | 81,075 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,780 | 54.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 342 | 21.62% |
| Asian Language** | 195 | 36.18% |
| Other Language | 52 | 16.72% |
| Total | 6,369 | 7.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,075 | 51.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 457 | 30.18% |
| Asian Language** | 218 | 56.19% |
| Other Language | 54 | 16.93% |
| Total | 3,804 | 5.09% |
* "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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