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 | 37,510 | 73.56% | 34,456 | 67.21% |
| Spanish | 13,093 | 25.68% | 16,368 | 31.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 206 | 0.40% | 220 | 0.43% |
| Asian Language** | 159 | 0.31% | 151 | 0.29% |
| Other | 22 | 0.04% | 71 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 50,990 | 100.00% | 51,266 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,969 | 36.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 57 | 25.91% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 27.15% |
| Other Language | 12 | 16.90% |
| Total | 6,079 | 11.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,999 | 38.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 28 | 13.59% |
| Asian Language** | 70 | 44.03% |
| Other Language | 2 | 9.09% |
| Total | 5,099 | 10.00% |
* "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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