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 | 50,942 | 91.52% | 60,483 | 92.90% |
| Spanish | 415 | 0.75% | 885 | 1.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,939 | 7.08% | 3,205 | 4.92% |
| Asian Language** | 139 | 0.25% | 148 | 0.23% |
| Other | 229 | 0.41% | 384 | 0.59% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 55,664 | 100.00% | 65,105 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 446 | 50.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 988 | 30.83% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 53.38% |
| Other Language | 104 | 27.08% |
| Total | 1,617 | 2.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 32 | 7.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 957 | 24.30% |
| Asian Language** | 55 | 39.57% |
| Other Language | 95 | 41.48% |
| Total | 1,139 | 2.05% |
* "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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