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 | 36,923 | 72.19% | 43,412 | 80.02% |
| Spanish | 195 | 0.38% | 242 | 0.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 13,915 | 27.21% | 10,421 | 19.21% |
| Asian Language** | 70 | 0.14% | 145 | 0.27% |
| Other | 45 | 0.09% | 30 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 51,148 | 100.00% | 54,250 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 68 | 28.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,064 | 19.81% |
| Asian Language** | 62 | 42.76% |
| Other Language | 13 | 43.33% |
| Total | 2,207 | 4.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 25 | 12.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,373 | 31.43% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 55.71% |
| Other Language | 40 | 88.89% |
| Total | 4,477 | 8.75% |
* "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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