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 | 39,645 | 97.05% | 42,989 | 95.31% |
| Spanish | 384 | 0.94% | 1,517 | 3.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 528 | 1.29% | 414 | 0.92% |
| Asian Language** | 160 | 0.39% | 169 | 0.37% |
| Other | 132 | 0.32% | 17 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 40,849 | 100.00% | 45,106 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 594 | 39.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 149 | 35.99% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 20.12% |
| Other Language | 6 | 35.29% |
| Total | 783 | 1.74% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 122 | 31.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 109 | 20.64% |
| Asian Language** | 107 | 66.88% |
| Other Language | 46 | 34.85% |
| Total | 384 | 0.94% |
* "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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