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 | 56,066 | 90.19% | 53,564 | 90.25% |
| Spanish | 1,912 | 3.08% | 2,221 | 3.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,123 | 3.42% | 1,727 | 2.91% |
| Asian Language** | 1,692 | 2.72% | 1,532 | 2.58% |
| Other | 370 | 0.60% | 304 | 0.51% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 62,163 | 100.00% | 59,348 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 758 | 34.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 273 | 15.81% |
| Asian Language** | 807 | 52.68% |
| Other Language | 68 | 22.37% |
| Total | 1,906 | 3.21% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 561 | 29.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 503 | 23.69% |
| Asian Language** | 792 | 46.81% |
| Other Language | 141 | 38.11% |
| Total | 1,997 | 3.21% |
* "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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