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 | 64,628 | 97.57% | 77,147 | 95.16% |
| Spanish | 771 | 1.16% | 2,599 | 3.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 678 | 1.02% | 880 | 1.09% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 0.19% | 363 | 0.45% |
| Other | 33 | 0.05% | 82 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 66,239 | 100.00% | 81,071 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,573 | 60.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 291 | 33.07% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 35.54% |
| Other Language | 33 | 40.24% |
| Total | 2,026 | 2.50% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 300 | 38.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 189 | 27.88% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 24.81% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 521 | 0.79% |
* "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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