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 | 53,446 | 97.96% | 55,279 | 96.75% |
| Spanish | 337 | 0.62% | 1,067 | 1.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 577 | 1.06% | 588 | 1.03% |
| Asian Language** | 84 | 0.15% | 169 | 0.30% |
| Other | 114 | 0.21% | 31 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 54,558 | 100.00% | 57,134 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 434 | 40.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 205 | 34.86% |
| Asian Language** | 106 | 62.72% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 745 | 1.30% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 76 | 22.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 222 | 38.47% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 53.57% |
| Other Language | 41 | 35.96% |
| Total | 384 | 0.70% |
* "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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