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 | 38,064 | 96.32% | 50,221 | 94.93% |
| Spanish | 740 | 1.87% | 1,640 | 3.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 527 | 1.33% | 702 | 1.33% |
| Asian Language** | 143 | 0.36% | 263 | 0.50% |
| Other | 43 | 0.11% | 78 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,517 | 100.00% | 52,904 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 707 | 43.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 164 | 23.36% |
| Asian Language** | 110 | 41.83% |
| Other Language | 10 | 12.82% |
| Total | 991 | 1.87% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 311 | 42.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 155 | 29.41% |
| Asian Language** | 59 | 41.26% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 525 | 1.33% |
* "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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