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 | 34,242 | 92.71% | 35,404 | 84.60% |
| Spanish | 2,194 | 5.94% | 5,979 | 14.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 378 | 1.02% | 234 | 0.56% |
| Asian Language** | 122 | 0.33% | 156 | 0.37% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 76 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 36,936 | 100.00% | 41,849 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,466 | 57.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 70 | 29.91% |
| Asian Language** | 73 | 46.79% |
| Other Language | 43 | 56.58% |
| Total | 3,652 | 8.73% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,053 | 47.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 24.87% |
| Asian Language** | 70 | 57.38% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,217 | 3.29% |
* "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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