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 | 42,794 | 88.42% | 41,700 | 89.14% |
| Spanish | 2,183 | 4.51% | 2,907 | 6.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,322 | 6.86% | 1,957 | 4.18% |
| Asian Language** | 87 | 0.18% | 175 | 0.37% |
| Other | 10 | 0.02% | 42 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 48,396 | 100.00% | 46,781 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,155 | 39.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 590 | 30.15% |
| Asian Language** | 93 | 53.14% |
| Other Language | 21 | 50.00% |
| Total | 1,859 | 3.97% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 922 | 42.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 899 | 27.06% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 66.67% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,879 | 3.88% |
* "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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