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 | 36,291 | 52.48% | 53,619 | 60.13% |
| Spanish | 3,333 | 4.82% | 4,185 | 4.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 418 | 0.60% | 619 | 0.69% |
| Asian Language** | 123 | 0.18% | 177 | 0.20% |
| Other | 28,993 | 41.92% | 30,575 | 34.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,158 | 100.00% | 89,175 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,335 | 31.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 62 | 10.02% |
| Asian Language** | 85 | 48.02% |
| Other Language | 13,150 | 43.01% |
| Total | 14,632 | 16.41% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 648 | 19.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 55 | 13.16% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 26.83% |
| Other Language | 15,021 | 51.81% |
| Total | 15,757 | 22.78% |
* "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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