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 | 35,510 | 95.31% | 38,700 | 84.73% |
| Spanish | 1,486 | 3.99% | 6,599 | 14.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 175 | 0.47% | 131 | 0.29% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 0.11% | 198 | 0.43% |
| Other | 46 | 0.12% | 46 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 37,258 | 100.00% | 45,674 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,616 | 69.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 40 | 30.53% |
| Asian Language** | 101 | 51.01% |
| Other Language | 19 | 41.30% |
| Total | 4,776 | 10.46% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 870 | 58.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 65 | 37.14% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 14.63% |
| Other Language | 9 | 19.57% |
| Total | 950 | 2.55% |
* "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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