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 | 24,287 | 60.61% | 31,229 | 69.53% |
| Spanish | 137 | 0.34% | 283 | 0.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15,385 | 38.40% | 13,075 | 29.11% |
| Asian Language** | 255 | 0.64% | 287 | 0.64% |
| Other | 6 | 0.01% | 41 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 40,070 | 100.00% | 44,915 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 91 | 32.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,402 | 26.02% |
| Asian Language** | 213 | 74.22% |
| Other Language | 14 | 34.15% |
| Total | 3,720 | 8.28% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 45 | 32.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,744 | 30.84% |
| Asian Language** | 181 | 70.98% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 4,970 | 12.40% |
* "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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