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 | 41,518 | 90.21% | 44,908 | 85.56% |
| Spanish | 3,452 | 7.50% | 6,808 | 12.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 816 | 1.77% | 551 | 1.05% |
| Asian Language** | 163 | 0.35% | 160 | 0.30% |
| Other | 75 | 0.16% | 59 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 46,024 | 100.00% | 52,486 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,867 | 56.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 117 | 21.23% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 19.38% |
| Other Language | 9 | 15.25% |
| Total | 4,024 | 7.67% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,520 | 44.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 176 | 21.57% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 34.97% |
| Other Language | 19 | 25.33% |
| Total | 1,772 | 3.85% |
* "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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