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 | 36,915 | 97.86% | 70,770 | 95.67% |
| Spanish | 261 | 0.69% | 1,777 | 2.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 388 | 1.03% | 1,005 | 1.36% |
| Asian Language** | 115 | 0.30% | 214 | 0.29% |
| Other | 45 | 0.12% | 210 | 0.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 37,724 | 100.00% | 73,976 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 615 | 34.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 347 | 34.53% |
| Asian Language** | 46 | 21.50% |
| Other Language | 43 | 20.48% |
| Total | 1,051 | 1.42% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 84 | 32.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 116 | 29.90% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 49.57% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 257 | 0.68% |
* "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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