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 | 46,611 | 76.01% | 70,395 | 76.85% |
| Spanish | 13,625 | 22.22% | 19,336 | 21.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 878 | 1.43% | 1,250 | 1.36% |
| Asian Language** | 148 | 0.24% | 523 | 0.57% |
| Other | 58 | 0.09% | 92 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 61,320 | 100.00% | 91,596 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,057 | 31.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 225 | 18.00% |
| Asian Language** | 210 | 40.15% |
| Other Language | 35 | 38.04% |
| Total | 6,527 | 7.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,319 | 39.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 135 | 15.38% |
| Asian Language** | 78 | 52.70% |
| Other Language | 13 | 22.41% |
| Total | 5,545 | 9.04% |
* "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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