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 | 68,023 | 87.25% | 85,647 | 83.23% |
| Spanish | 8,465 | 10.86% | 15,714 | 15.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,341 | 1.72% | 1,158 | 1.13% |
| Asian Language** | 130 | 0.17% | 232 | 0.23% |
| Other | 4 | 0.01% | 150 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 77,963 | 100.00% | 102,901 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,998 | 44.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 265 | 22.88% |
| Asian Language** | 83 | 35.78% |
| Other Language | 21 | 14.00% |
| Total | 7,367 | 7.16% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,465 | 40.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 284 | 21.18% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 46.92% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 3,810 | 4.89% |
* "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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