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 | 51,091 | 96.54% | 50,863 | 94.29% |
| Spanish | 810 | 1.53% | 1,744 | 3.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 690 | 1.30% | 601 | 1.11% |
| Asian Language** | 200 | 0.38% | 653 | 1.21% |
| Other | 132 | 0.25% | 83 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 52,923 | 100.00% | 53,944 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 724 | 41.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 110 | 18.30% |
| Asian Language** | 299 | 45.79% |
| Other Language | 33 | 39.76% |
| Total | 1,166 | 2.16% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 296 | 36.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 137 | 19.86% |
| Asian Language** | 83 | 41.50% |
| Other Language | 12 | 9.09% |
| Total | 528 | 1.00% |
* "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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