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 | 52,474 | 97.32% | 59,796 | 96.17% |
| Spanish | 695 | 1.29% | 1,552 | 2.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 613 | 1.14% | 598 | 0.96% |
| Asian Language** | 96 | 0.18% | 196 | 0.32% |
| Other | 43 | 0.08% | 33 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 53,921 | 100.00% | 62,175 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 778 | 50.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 149 | 24.92% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 31.12% |
| Other Language | 12 | 36.36% |
| Total | 1,000 | 1.61% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 339 | 48.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 103 | 16.80% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 27.08% |
| Other Language | 11 | 25.58% |
| Total | 479 | 0.89% |
* "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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