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 | 39,170 | 98.09% | 47,151 | 97.75% |
| Spanish | 291 | 0.73% | 494 | 1.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 329 | 0.82% | 414 | 0.86% |
| Asian Language** | 105 | 0.26% | 128 | 0.27% |
| Other | 38 | 0.10% | 47 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,933 | 100.00% | 48,234 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 87 | 17.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 57 | 13.77% |
| Asian Language** | 55 | 42.97% |
| Other Language | 9 | 19.15% |
| Total | 208 | 0.43% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 113 | 38.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 110 | 33.43% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 32.38% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 257 | 0.64% |
* "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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