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 | 48,294 | 94.64% | 51,559 | 93.89% |
| Spanish | 428 | 0.84% | 615 | 1.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,157 | 4.23% | 2,503 | 4.56% |
| Asian Language** | 84 | 0.16% | 174 | 0.32% |
| Other | 67 | 0.13% | 63 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 51,030 | 100.00% | 54,914 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 120 | 19.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 773 | 30.88% |
| Asian Language** | 82 | 47.13% |
| Other Language | 26 | 41.27% |
| Total | 1,001 | 1.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 146 | 34.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 607 | 28.14% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 47.62% |
| Other Language | 28 | 41.79% |
| Total | 821 | 1.61% |
* "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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