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 | 50,022 | 97.91% | 63,664 | 96.86% |
| Spanish | 368 | 0.72% | 1,115 | 1.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 421 | 0.82% | 528 | 0.80% |
| Asian Language** | 153 | 0.30% | 168 | 0.26% |
| Other | 127 | 0.25% | 253 | 0.38% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 51,091 | 100.00% | 65,728 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 308 | 27.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 89 | 16.86% |
| Asian Language** | 89 | 52.98% |
| Other Language | 37 | 14.62% |
| Total | 523 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 130 | 35.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 130 | 30.88% |
| Asian Language** | 84 | 54.90% |
| Other Language | 47 | 37.01% |
| Total | 391 | 0.77% |
* "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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