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 | 50,024 | 94.66% | 52,015 | 95.34% |
| Spanish | 544 | 1.03% | 1,001 | 1.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,930 | 3.65% | 1,203 | 2.21% |
| Asian Language** | 303 | 0.57% | 199 | 0.36% |
| Other | 44 | 0.08% | 137 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 52,845 | 100.00% | 54,555 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 249 | 24.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 307 | 25.52% |
| Asian Language** | 77 | 38.69% |
| Other Language | 42 | 30.66% |
| Total | 675 | 1.24% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 101 | 18.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 467 | 24.20% |
| Asian Language** | 87 | 28.71% |
| Other Language | 23 | 52.27% |
| Total | 678 | 1.28% |
* "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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