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 | 37,171 | 95.35% | 42,316 | 95.62% |
| Spanish | 1,198 | 3.07% | 1,279 | 2.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 527 | 1.35% | 389 | 0.88% |
| Asian Language** | 49 | 0.13% | 111 | 0.25% |
| Other | 40 | 0.10% | 158 | 0.36% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 38,985 | 100.00% | 44,253 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 430 | 33.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 95 | 24.42% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 36.94% |
| Other Language | 48 | 30.38% |
| Total | 614 | 1.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 559 | 46.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 104 | 19.73% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 53.06% |
| Other Language | 6 | 15.00% |
| Total | 695 | 1.78% |
* "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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