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 | 48,015 | 94.94% | 49,593 | 95.37% |
| Spanish | 392 | 0.78% | 807 | 1.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,001 | 3.96% | 1,417 | 2.73% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 0.25% | 127 | 0.24% |
| Other | 40 | 0.08% | 54 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 50,574 | 100.00% | 51,998 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 267 | 33.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 381 | 26.89% |
| Asian Language** | 83 | 65.35% |
| Other Language | 18 | 33.33% |
| Total | 749 | 1.44% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 177 | 45.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 545 | 27.24% |
| Asian Language** | 85 | 67.46% |
| Other Language | 21 | 52.50% |
| Total | 828 | 1.64% |
* "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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