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 | 46,119 | 96.35% | 46,520 | 96.23% |
| Spanish | 570 | 1.19% | 603 | 1.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,037 | 2.17% | 1,061 | 2.19% |
| Asian Language** | 62 | 0.13% | 109 | 0.23% |
| Other | 78 | 0.16% | 48 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 47,866 | 100.00% | 48,341 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 162 | 26.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 310 | 29.22% |
| Asian Language** | 42 | 38.53% |
| Other Language | 9 | 18.75% |
| Total | 523 | 1.08% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 150 | 26.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 343 | 33.08% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 46.77% |
| Other Language | 2 | 2.56% |
| Total | 524 | 1.09% |
* "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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