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 | 49,002 | 95.85% | 57,098 | 95.17% |
| Spanish | 598 | 1.17% | 985 | 1.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,064 | 2.08% | 851 | 1.42% |
| Asian Language** | 263 | 0.51% | 598 | 1.00% |
| Other | 199 | 0.39% | 466 | 0.78% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 51,126 | 100.00% | 59,998 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 302 | 30.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 150 | 17.63% |
| Asian Language** | 317 | 53.01% |
| Other Language | 54 | 11.59% |
| Total | 823 | 1.37% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 290 | 48.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 351 | 32.99% |
| Asian Language** | 60 | 22.81% |
| Other Language | 64 | 32.16% |
| Total | 765 | 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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