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 | 49,804 | 96.41% | 52,517 | 95.48% |
| Spanish | 792 | 1.53% | 1,501 | 2.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 860 | 1.66% | 903 | 1.64% |
| Asian Language** | 106 | 0.21% | 59 | 0.11% |
| Other | 98 | 0.19% | 22 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 51,660 | 100.00% | 55,002 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 570 | 37.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 357 | 39.53% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 22.03% |
| Other Language | 9 | 40.91% |
| Total | 949 | 1.73% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 318 | 40.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 219 | 25.47% |
| Asian Language** | 68 | 64.15% |
| Other Language | 12 | 12.24% |
| Total | 617 | 1.19% |
* "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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