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 | 52,601 | 97.14% | 64,023 | 96.46% |
| Spanish | 531 | 0.98% | 1,052 | 1.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 655 | 1.21% | 858 | 1.29% |
| Asian Language** | 244 | 0.45% | 337 | 0.51% |
| Other | 118 | 0.22% | 100 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 54,149 | 100.00% | 66,370 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 377 | 35.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 186 | 21.68% |
| Asian Language** | 221 | 65.58% |
| Other Language | 36 | 36.00% |
| Total | 820 | 1.24% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 258 | 48.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 108 | 16.49% |
| Asian Language** | 71 | 29.10% |
| Other Language | 27 | 22.88% |
| Total | 464 | 0.86% |
* "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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