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 | 43,578 | 95.13% | 48,188 | 90.57% |
Spanish | 374 | 0.82% | 2,706 | 5.09% |
Other Indo-European* | 1,615 | 3.53% | 1,315 | 2.47% |
Asian Language** | 225 | 0.49% | 705 | 1.32% |
Other | 15 | 0.03% | 294 | 0.55% |
Total Population Age 5+ | 45,807 | 100.00% | 53,208 | 100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 1,613 | 59.61% |
Other Indo-European* | 223 | 16.96% |
Asian Language** | 341 | 48.37% |
Other Language | 191 | 64.97% |
Total | 2,368 | 4.45% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 116 | 31.02% |
Other Indo-European* | 387 | 23.96% |
Asian Language** | 92 | 40.89% |
Other Language | 0 | - |
Total | 595 | 1.30% |
* "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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