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 | 38,828 | 95.38% | 40,698 | 91.60% |
Spanish | 1,493 | 3.67% | 3,416 | 7.69% |
Other Indo-European* | 331 | 0.81% | 208 | 0.47% |
Asian Language** | 44 | 0.11% | 95 | 0.21% |
Other | 11 | 0.03% | 12 | 0.03% |
Total Population Age 5+ | 40,707 | 100.00% | 44,429 | 100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 1,871 | 54.77% |
Other Indo-European* | 43 | 20.67% |
Asian Language** | 50 | 52.63% |
Other Language | 2 | 16.67% |
Total | 1,966 | 4.43% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 885 | 59.28% |
Other Indo-European* | 62 | 18.73% |
Asian Language** | 25 | 56.82% |
Other Language | 6 | 54.55% |
Total | 978 | 2.40% |
* "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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