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 | 56,216 | 97.25% | 58,144 | 96.25% |
| Spanish | 541 | 0.94% | 1,685 | 2.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 806 | 1.39% | 355 | 0.59% |
| Asian Language** | 68 | 0.12% | 100 | 0.17% |
| Other | 175 | 0.30% | 127 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 57,806 | 100.00% | 60,411 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,169 | 69.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 67 | 18.87% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 33.00% |
| Other Language | 37 | 29.13% |
| Total | 1,306 | 2.16% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 161 | 29.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 197 | 24.44% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 13.24% |
| Other Language | 69 | 39.43% |
| Total | 436 | 0.75% |
* "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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