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 | 42,730 | 95.16% | 48,865 | 94.76% |
| Spanish | 628 | 1.40% | 1,202 | 2.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,171 | 2.61% | 1,115 | 2.16% |
| Asian Language** | 307 | 0.68% | 307 | 0.60% |
| Other | 69 | 0.15% | 77 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,905 | 100.00% | 51,566 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 389 | 32.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 227 | 20.36% |
| Asian Language** | 200 | 65.15% |
| Other Language | 11 | 14.29% |
| Total | 827 | 1.60% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 182 | 28.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 266 | 22.72% |
| Asian Language** | 184 | 59.93% |
| Other Language | 35 | 50.72% |
| Total | 667 | 1.49% |
* "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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