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 | 41,825 | 91.52% | 48,955 | 94.21% |
| Spanish | 2,554 | 5.59% | 1,833 | 3.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,099 | 2.40% | 912 | 1.76% |
| Asian Language** | 150 | 0.33% | 249 | 0.48% |
| Other | 71 | 0.16% | 16 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 45,699 | 100.00% | 51,965 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 538 | 29.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 151 | 16.56% |
| Asian Language** | 110 | 44.18% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 799 | 1.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,085 | 42.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 255 | 23.20% |
| Asian Language** | 65 | 43.33% |
| Other Language | 13 | 18.31% |
| Total | 1,418 | 3.10% |
* "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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