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 | 38,920 | 96.27% | 49,849 | 94.48% |
| Spanish | 637 | 1.58% | 1,455 | 2.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 717 | 1.77% | 801 | 1.52% |
| Asian Language** | 133 | 0.33% | 476 | 0.90% |
| Other | 20 | 0.05% | 180 | 0.34% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 40,427 | 100.00% | 52,761 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 726 | 49.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 191 | 23.85% |
| Asian Language** | 218 | 45.80% |
| Other Language | 55 | 30.56% |
| Total | 1,190 | 2.26% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 294 | 46.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 226 | 31.52% |
| Asian Language** | 94 | 70.68% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 614 | 1.52% |
* "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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