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 | 42,440 | 96.43% | 50,122 | 96.01% |
| Spanish | 484 | 1.10% | 879 | 1.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 784 | 1.78% | 993 | 1.90% |
| Asian Language** | 212 | 0.48% | 180 | 0.34% |
| Other | 93 | 0.21% | 31 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,013 | 100.00% | 52,205 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 207 | 23.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 262 | 26.38% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 15.56% |
| Other Language | 5 | 16.13% |
| Total | 502 | 0.96% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 123 | 25.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 275 | 35.08% |
| Asian Language** | 98 | 46.23% |
| Other Language | 9 | 9.68% |
| Total | 505 | 1.15% |
* "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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