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 | 76,131 | 96.80% | 83,022 | 97.00% |
| Spanish | 1,005 | 1.28% | 1,306 | 1.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,186 | 1.51% | 1,003 | 1.17% |
| Asian Language** | 258 | 0.33% | 148 | 0.17% |
| Other | 67 | 0.09% | 113 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 78,647 | 100.00% | 85,592 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 477 | 36.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 301 | 30.01% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 39.19% |
| Other Language | 34 | 30.09% |
| Total | 870 | 1.02% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 335 | 33.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 415 | 34.99% |
| Asian Language** | 117 | 45.35% |
| Other Language | 16 | 23.88% |
| Total | 883 | 1.12% |
* "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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