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 | 35,692 | 96.12% | 40,189 | 94.72% |
| Spanish | 723 | 1.95% | 1,242 | 2.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 532 | 1.43% | 460 | 1.08% |
| Asian Language** | 124 | 0.33% | 416 | 0.98% |
| Other | 60 | 0.16% | 122 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 37,131 | 100.00% | 42,429 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 456 | 36.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 171 | 37.17% |
| Asian Language** | 154 | 37.02% |
| Other Language | 21 | 17.21% |
| Total | 802 | 1.89% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 209 | 28.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 150 | 28.20% |
| Asian Language** | 74 | 59.68% |
| Other Language | 8 | 13.33% |
| Total | 441 | 1.19% |
* "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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