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 | 57,753 | 94.84% | 56,603 | 93.67% |
| Spanish | 1,370 | 2.25% | 2,153 | 3.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,507 | 2.47% | 1,282 | 2.12% |
| Asian Language** | 164 | 0.27% | 271 | 0.45% |
| Other | 101 | 0.17% | 119 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 60,895 | 100.00% | 60,428 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,019 | 47.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 377 | 29.41% |
| Asian Language** | 144 | 53.14% |
| Other Language | 58 | 48.74% |
| Total | 1,598 | 2.64% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 532 | 38.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 460 | 30.52% |
| Asian Language** | 100 | 60.98% |
| Other Language | 12 | 11.88% |
| Total | 1,104 | 1.81% |
* "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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