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 | 61,405 | 95.59% | 62,076 | 95.03% |
| Spanish | 874 | 1.36% | 1,241 | 1.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,516 | 2.36% | 1,384 | 2.12% |
| Asian Language** | 307 | 0.48% | 281 | 0.43% |
| Other | 134 | 0.21% | 341 | 0.52% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,236 | 100.00% | 65,323 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 414 | 33.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 353 | 25.51% |
| Asian Language** | 112 | 39.86% |
| Other Language | 65 | 19.06% |
| Total | 944 | 1.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 379 | 43.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 546 | 36.02% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 10.10% |
| Other Language | 78 | 58.21% |
| Total | 1,034 | 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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