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 | 38,804 | 96.78% | 41,969 | 96.47% |
| Spanish | 342 | 0.85% | 526 | 1.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 760 | 1.90% | 817 | 1.88% |
| Asian Language** | 143 | 0.36% | 80 | 0.18% |
| Other | 48 | 0.12% | 113 | 0.26% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 40,097 | 100.00% | 43,505 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 170 | 32.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 219 | 26.81% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 41.25% |
| Other Language | 36 | 31.86% |
| Total | 458 | 1.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 121 | 35.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 193 | 25.39% |
| Asian Language** | 46 | 32.17% |
| Other Language | 5 | 10.42% |
| Total | 365 | 0.91% |
* "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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