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 | 43,270 | 96.98% | 45,146 | 97.73% |
| Spanish | 257 | 0.58% | 408 | 0.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,027 | 2.30% | 543 | 1.18% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 0.09% | 69 | 0.15% |
| Other | 26 | 0.06% | 29 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,618 | 100.00% | 46,195 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 115 | 28.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 121 | 22.28% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 47.83% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 269 | 0.58% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 70 | 27.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 283 | 27.56% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 97.37% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 390 | 0.87% |
* "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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