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 | 37,360 | 95.98% | 39,088 | 95.99% |
| Spanish | 186 | 0.48% | 484 | 1.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 729 | 1.87% | 581 | 1.43% |
| Asian Language** | 124 | 0.32% | 196 | 0.48% |
| Other | 524 | 1.35% | 372 | 0.91% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 38,923 | 100.00% | 40,721 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 139 | 28.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 140 | 24.10% |
| Asian Language** | 119 | 60.71% |
| Other Language | 158 | 42.47% |
| Total | 556 | 1.37% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 93 | 50.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 392 | 53.77% |
| Asian Language** | 75 | 60.48% |
| Other Language | 91 | 17.37% |
| Total | 651 | 1.67% |
* "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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