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 | 70,057 | 95.15% | 82,188 | 93.59% |
| Spanish | 1,545 | 2.10% | 3,657 | 4.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,749 | 2.38% | 1,617 | 1.84% |
| Asian Language** | 133 | 0.18% | 268 | 0.31% |
| Other | 141 | 0.19% | 83 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 73,625 | 100.00% | 87,813 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,346 | 36.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 404 | 24.98% |
| Asian Language** | 102 | 38.06% |
| Other Language | 6 | 7.23% |
| Total | 1,858 | 2.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 586 | 37.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 372 | 21.27% |
| Asian Language** | 81 | 60.90% |
| Other Language | 6 | 4.26% |
| Total | 1,045 | 1.42% |
* "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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