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 | 43,180 | 97.38% | 41,878 | 97.48% |
| Spanish | 538 | 1.21% | 550 | 1.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 460 | 1.04% | 337 | 0.78% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 0.15% | 124 | 0.29% |
| Other | 100 | 0.23% | 70 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,344 | 100.00% | 42,959 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 132 | 24.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 66 | 19.58% |
| Asian Language** | 35 | 28.23% |
| Other Language | 12 | 17.14% |
| Total | 245 | 0.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 169 | 31.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 138 | 30.00% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 48.48% |
| Other Language | 18 | 18.00% |
| Total | 357 | 0.81% |
* "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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