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 | 36,648 | 95.69% | 40,146 | 93.53% |
| Spanish | 374 | 0.98% | 1,199 | 2.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,089 | 2.84% | 1,085 | 2.53% |
| Asian Language** | 93 | 0.24% | 169 | 0.39% |
| Other | 94 | 0.25% | 322 | 0.75% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 38,298 | 100.00% | 42,921 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 534 | 44.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 282 | 25.99% |
| Asian Language** | 124 | 73.37% |
| Other Language | 178 | 55.28% |
| Total | 1,118 | 2.60% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 169 | 45.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 319 | 29.29% |
| Asian Language** | 68 | 73.12% |
| Other Language | 19 | 20.21% |
| Total | 575 | 1.50% |
* "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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