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 | 62,808 | 96.86% | 97,526 | 96.31% |
| Spanish | 784 | 1.21% | 1,726 | 1.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,025 | 1.58% | 1,482 | 1.46% |
| Asian Language** | 124 | 0.19% | 359 | 0.35% |
| Other | 104 | 0.16% | 167 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,845 | 100.00% | 101,260 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 499 | 28.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 244 | 16.46% |
| Asian Language** | 118 | 32.87% |
| Other Language | 7 | 4.19% |
| Total | 868 | 0.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 209 | 26.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 289 | 28.20% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 49.19% |
| Other Language | 10 | 9.62% |
| Total | 569 | 0.88% |
* "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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