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 | 60,831 | 94.05% | 58,145 | 93.89% |
| Spanish | 840 | 1.30% | 1,300 | 2.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,329 | 3.60% | 1,916 | 3.09% |
| Asian Language** | 536 | 0.83% | 417 | 0.67% |
| Other | 145 | 0.22% | 151 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 64,681 | 100.00% | 61,929 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 542 | 41.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 417 | 21.76% |
| Asian Language** | 141 | 33.81% |
| Other Language | 80 | 52.98% |
| Total | 1,180 | 1.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 215 | 25.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 550 | 23.62% |
| Asian Language** | 220 | 41.04% |
| Other Language | 77 | 53.10% |
| Total | 1,062 | 1.64% |
* "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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