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 | 48,131 | 95.69% | 52,268 | 95.72% |
| Spanish | 289 | 0.57% | 444 | 0.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,599 | 3.18% | 1,552 | 2.84% |
| Asian Language** | 150 | 0.30% | 275 | 0.50% |
| Other | 131 | 0.26% | 64 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 50,300 | 100.00% | 54,603 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 93 | 20.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 330 | 21.26% |
| Asian Language** | 141 | 51.27% |
| Other Language | 31 | 48.44% |
| Total | 595 | 1.09% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 76 | 26.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 254 | 15.88% |
| Asian Language** | 97 | 64.67% |
| Other Language | 6 | 4.58% |
| Total | 433 | 0.86% |
* "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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