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 | 43,622 | 95.88% | 43,692 | 95.57% |
| Spanish | 444 | 0.98% | 629 | 1.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,308 | 2.88% | 1,269 | 2.78% |
| Asian Language** | 96 | 0.21% | 60 | 0.13% |
| Other | 25 | 0.05% | 68 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 45,495 | 100.00% | 45,718 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 236 | 37.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 409 | 32.23% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 31.67% |
| Other Language | 1 | 1.47% |
| Total | 665 | 1.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 151 | 34.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 398 | 30.43% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 40.63% |
| Other Language | 2 | 8.00% |
| Total | 590 | 1.30% |
* "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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