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 | 42,714 | 95.67% | 44,365 | 93.98% |
| Spanish | 505 | 1.13% | 1,086 | 2.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,072 | 2.40% | 1,055 | 2.23% |
| Asian Language** | 287 | 0.64% | 642 | 1.36% |
| Other | 68 | 0.15% | 57 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,646 | 100.00% | 47,205 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 437 | 40.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 366 | 34.69% |
| Asian Language** | 340 | 52.96% |
| Other Language | 9 | 15.79% |
| Total | 1,152 | 2.44% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 155 | 30.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 325 | 30.32% |
| Asian Language** | 166 | 57.84% |
| Other Language | 39 | 57.35% |
| Total | 685 | 1.53% |
* "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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