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 | 59,006 | 93.68% | 60,273 | 92.57% |
| Spanish | 1,763 | 2.80% | 2,333 | 3.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,433 | 2.28% | 1,863 | 2.86% |
| Asian Language** | 688 | 1.09% | 481 | 0.74% |
| Other | 94 | 0.15% | 158 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 62,984 | 100.00% | 65,108 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 813 | 34.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 597 | 32.05% |
| Asian Language** | 204 | 42.41% |
| Other Language | 41 | 25.95% |
| Total | 1,655 | 2.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 641 | 36.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 402 | 28.05% |
| Asian Language** | 277 | 40.26% |
| Other Language | 37 | 39.36% |
| Total | 1,357 | 2.15% |
* "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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