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 | 61,528 | 69.92% | 77,374 | 71.79% |
| Spanish | 5,446 | 6.19% | 7,048 | 6.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,202 | 1.37% | 1,386 | 1.29% |
| Asian Language** | 482 | 0.55% | 514 | 0.48% |
| Other | 19,345 | 21.98% | 21,453 | 19.91% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 88,003 | 100.00% | 107,775 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,878 | 40.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 279 | 20.13% |
| Asian Language** | 175 | 34.05% |
| Other Language | 7,504 | 34.98% |
| Total | 10,836 | 10.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,768 | 32.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 233 | 19.38% |
| Asian Language** | 253 | 52.49% |
| Other Language | 8,961 | 46.32% |
| Total | 11,215 | 12.74% |
* "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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