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 | 64,407 | 95.55% | 59,886 | 77.81% |
| Spanish | 2,197 | 3.26% | 15,746 | 20.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 669 | 0.99% | 824 | 1.07% |
| Asian Language** | 104 | 0.15% | 384 | 0.50% |
| Other | 28 | 0.04% | 126 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 67,405 | 100.00% | 76,966 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,980 | 69.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 243 | 29.49% |
| Asian Language** | 237 | 61.72% |
| Other Language | 17 | 13.49% |
| Total | 11,477 | 14.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,375 | 62.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 178 | 26.61% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 20.19% |
| Other Language | 22 | 78.57% |
| Total | 1,596 | 2.37% |
* "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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