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 | 38,355 | 96.79% | 38,490 | 95.38% |
| Spanish | 798 | 2.01% | 1,564 | 3.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 214 | 0.54% | 228 | 0.56% |
| Asian Language** | 184 | 0.46% | 16 | 0.04% |
| Other | 77 | 0.19% | 57 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,628 | 100.00% | 40,355 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 651 | 41.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 42 | 18.42% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 25.00% |
| Other Language | 8 | 14.04% |
| Total | 705 | 1.75% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 289 | 36.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 38 | 17.76% |
| Asian Language** | 140 | 76.09% |
| Other Language | 19 | 24.68% |
| Total | 486 | 1.23% |
* "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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