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 | 59,804 | 92.27% | 71,297 | 86.12% |
| Spanish | 3,278 | 5.06% | 8,971 | 10.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,361 | 2.10% | 1,641 | 1.98% |
| Asian Language** | 233 | 0.36% | 630 | 0.76% |
| Other | 137 | 0.21% | 248 | 0.30% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,813 | 100.00% | 82,787 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,804 | 53.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 537 | 32.72% |
| Asian Language** | 271 | 43.02% |
| Other Language | 33 | 13.31% |
| Total | 5,645 | 6.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,717 | 52.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 459 | 33.73% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 55.36% |
| Other Language | 30 | 21.90% |
| Total | 2,335 | 3.60% |
* "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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