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 | 23,811 | 92.62% | 39,862 | 91.37% |
| Spanish | 556 | 2.16% | 1,692 | 3.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,179 | 4.59% | 1,783 | 4.09% |
| Asian Language** | 81 | 0.32% | 212 | 0.49% |
| Other | 81 | 0.32% | 79 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 25,708 | 100.00% | 43,628 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 454 | 26.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 596 | 33.43% |
| Asian Language** | 82 | 38.68% |
| Other Language | 20 | 25.32% |
| Total | 1,152 | 2.64% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 184 | 33.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 302 | 25.61% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 23.46% |
| Other Language | 31 | 38.27% |
| Total | 536 | 2.08% |
* "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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