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 | 57,834 | 92.26% | 73,418 | 89.08% |
| Spanish | 1,656 | 2.64% | 5,536 | 6.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,196 | 1.91% | 1,470 | 1.78% |
| Asian Language** | 1,658 | 2.64% | 1,652 | 2.00% |
| Other | 342 | 0.55% | 345 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 62,686 | 100.00% | 82,421 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,864 | 51.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 255 | 17.35% |
| Asian Language** | 785 | 47.52% |
| Other Language | 47 | 13.62% |
| Total | 3,951 | 4.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 562 | 33.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 333 | 27.84% |
| Asian Language** | 848 | 51.15% |
| Other Language | 119 | 34.80% |
| Total | 1,862 | 2.97% |
* "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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