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 | 39,390 | 91.00% | 45,800 | 94.20% |
| Spanish | 1,042 | 2.41% | 1,096 | 2.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,725 | 3.99% | 1,368 | 2.81% |
| Asian Language** | 90 | 0.21% | 54 | 0.11% |
| Other | 1,037 | 2.40% | 302 | 0.62% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 43,284 | 100.00% | 48,620 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 644 | 58.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 265 | 19.37% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 62.96% |
| Other Language | 16 | 5.30% |
| Total | 959 | 1.97% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 410 | 39.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 533 | 30.90% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 44.44% |
| Other Language | 235 | 22.66% |
| Total | 1,218 | 2.81% |
* "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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