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 | 39,665 | 97.44% | 81,312 | 91.37% |
| Spanish | 576 | 1.41% | 5,210 | 5.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 401 | 0.99% | 1,828 | 2.05% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 0.07% | 490 | 0.55% |
| Other | 37 | 0.09% | 149 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 40,709 | 100.00% | 88,989 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,241 | 62.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 530 | 28.99% |
| Asian Language** | 185 | 37.76% |
| Other Language | 82 | 55.03% |
| Total | 4,038 | 4.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 258 | 44.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 95 | 23.69% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 26.67% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 361 | 0.89% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy