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 | 55,622 | 95.68% | 57,909 | 95.25% |
| Spanish | 1,080 | 1.86% | 1,195 | 1.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,232 | 2.12% | 1,194 | 1.96% |
| Asian Language** | 174 | 0.30% | 440 | 0.72% |
| Other | 25 | 0.04% | 58 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 58,133 | 100.00% | 60,796 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 536 | 44.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 257 | 21.52% |
| Asian Language** | 150 | 34.09% |
| Other Language | 5 | 8.62% |
| Total | 948 | 1.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 579 | 53.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 274 | 22.24% |
| Asian Language** | 73 | 41.95% |
| Other Language | 9 | 36.00% |
| Total | 935 | 1.61% |
* "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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