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 | 45,667 | 98.22% | 59,271 | 97.86% |
| Spanish | 357 | 0.77% | 855 | 1.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 417 | 0.90% | 313 | 0.52% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 0.07% | 121 | 0.20% |
| Other | 20 | 0.04% | 6 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 46,493 | 100.00% | 60,566 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 262 | 30.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 85 | 27.16% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 39.67% |
| Other Language | 6 | 100.00% |
| Total | 401 | 0.66% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 130 | 36.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 157 | 37.65% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 34.38% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 298 | 0.64% |
* "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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