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 | 74,398 | 97.33% | 78,283 | 95.47% |
Spanish | 873 | 1.14% | 2,182 | 2.66% |
Other Indo-European* | 1,043 | 1.36% | 1,052 | 1.28% |
Asian Language** | 118 | 0.15% | 336 | 0.41% |
Other | 5 | 0.01% | 144 | 0.18% |
Total Population Age 5+ | 76,437 | 100.00% | 81,997 | 100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 886 | 40.60% |
Other Indo-European* | 212 | 20.15% |
Asian Language** | 161 | 47.92% |
Other Language | 85 | 59.03% |
Total | 1,344 | 1.64% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 276 | 31.62% |
Other Indo-European* | 312 | 29.91% |
Asian Language** | 80 | 67.80% |
Other Language | 0 | - |
Total | 668 | 0.87% |
* "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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