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 | 38,912 | 98.19% | 47,926 | 96.52% |
| Spanish | 427 | 1.08% | 807 | 1.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 236 | 0.60% | 616 | 1.24% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 0.12% | 273 | 0.55% |
| Other | 8 | 0.02% | 32 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,631 | 100.00% | 49,654 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 262 | 32.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 259 | 42.05% |
| Asian Language** | 130 | 47.62% |
| Other Language | 25 | 78.13% |
| Total | 676 | 1.36% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 102 | 23.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 135 | 57.20% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 79.17% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 275 | 0.69% |
* "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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