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 | 45,778 | 92.63% | 52,656 | 88.46% |
| Spanish | 2,350 | 4.76% | 4,855 | 8.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 863 | 1.75% | 1,624 | 2.73% |
| Asian Language** | 359 | 0.73% | 313 | 0.53% |
| Other | 69 | 0.14% | 80 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 49,419 | 100.00% | 59,528 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,973 | 40.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 606 | 37.32% |
| Asian Language** | 172 | 54.95% |
| Other Language | 29 | 36.25% |
| Total | 2,780 | 4.67% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 750 | 31.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 256 | 29.66% |
| Asian Language** | 191 | 53.20% |
| Other Language | 3 | 4.35% |
| Total | 1,200 | 2.43% |
* "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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