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 | 41,590 | 94.41% | 42,860 | 93.97% |
| Spanish | 676 | 1.53% | 903 | 1.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,604 | 3.64% | 1,634 | 3.58% |
| Asian Language** | 124 | 0.28% | 164 | 0.36% |
| Other | 60 | 0.14% | 51 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,054 | 100.00% | 45,612 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 246 | 27.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 451 | 27.60% |
| Asian Language** | 80 | 48.78% |
| Other Language | 15 | 29.41% |
| Total | 792 | 1.74% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 307 | 45.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 404 | 25.19% |
| Asian Language** | 50 | 40.32% |
| Other Language | 27 | 45.00% |
| Total | 788 | 1.79% |
* "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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