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 | 42,319 | 87.89% | 50,464 | 85.74% |
| Spanish | 4,795 | 9.96% | 7,586 | 12.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 727 | 1.51% | 455 | 0.77% |
| Asian Language** | 185 | 0.38% | 285 | 0.48% |
| Other | 126 | 0.26% | 64 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 48,152 | 100.00% | 58,854 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,366 | 44.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 83 | 18.24% |
| Asian Language** | 112 | 39.30% |
| Other Language | 12 | 18.75% |
| Total | 3,573 | 6.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,770 | 36.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 130 | 17.88% |
| Asian Language** | 127 | 68.65% |
| Other Language | 46 | 36.51% |
| Total | 2,073 | 4.31% |
* "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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