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 | 37,428 | 94.81% | 48,762 | 92.76% |
| Spanish | 591 | 1.50% | 1,210 | 2.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 862 | 2.18% | 1,412 | 2.69% |
| Asian Language** | 559 | 1.42% | 1,156 | 2.20% |
| Other | 37 | 0.09% | 29 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,477 | 100.00% | 52,569 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 302 | 24.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 256 | 18.13% |
| Asian Language** | 513 | 44.38% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,071 | 2.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 201 | 34.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 149 | 17.29% |
| Asian Language** | 246 | 44.01% |
| Other Language | 11 | 29.73% |
| Total | 607 | 1.54% |
* "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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