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 | 45,471 | 96.67% | 60,700 | 94.98% |
| Spanish | 543 | 1.15% | 1,365 | 2.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 640 | 1.36% | 1,077 | 1.69% |
| Asian Language** | 212 | 0.45% | 609 | 0.95% |
| Other | 173 | 0.37% | 154 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 47,039 | 100.00% | 63,905 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 475 | 34.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 241 | 22.38% |
| Asian Language** | 340 | 55.83% |
| Other Language | 41 | 26.62% |
| Total | 1,097 | 1.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 212 | 39.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 100 | 15.63% |
| Asian Language** | 116 | 54.72% |
| Other Language | 54 | 31.21% |
| Total | 482 | 1.02% |
* "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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