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 | 40,045 | 97.10% | 47,221 | 96.40% |
| Spanish | 496 | 1.20% | 1,049 | 2.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 501 | 1.21% | 482 | 0.98% |
| Asian Language** | 160 | 0.39% | 196 | 0.40% |
| Other | 39 | 0.09% | 38 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 41,241 | 100.00% | 48,986 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 478 | 45.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 105 | 21.78% |
| Asian Language** | 78 | 39.80% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 661 | 1.35% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 120 | 24.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 160 | 31.94% |
| Asian Language** | 77 | 48.13% |
| Other Language | 8 | 20.51% |
| Total | 365 | 0.89% |
* "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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