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 | 38,570 | 97.58% | 40,263 | 95.29% |
| Spanish | 630 | 1.59% | 1,593 | 3.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 263 | 0.67% | 237 | 0.56% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 0.13% | 89 | 0.21% |
| Other | 12 | 0.03% | 73 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,528 | 100.00% | 42,255 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 893 | 56.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 36 | 15.19% |
| Asian Language** | 68 | 76.40% |
| Other Language | 21 | 28.77% |
| Total | 1,018 | 2.41% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 283 | 44.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 100 | 38.02% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 58.49% |
| Other Language | 12 | 100.00% |
| Total | 426 | 1.08% |
* "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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