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 | 46,071 | 94.39% | 49,529 | 95.45% |
| Spanish | 224 | 0.46% | 318 | 0.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,293 | 4.70% | 1,758 | 3.39% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 0.08% | 154 | 0.30% |
| Other | 181 | 0.37% | 129 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 48,810 | 100.00% | 51,888 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 83 | 26.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 391 | 22.24% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 26.62% |
| Other Language | 36 | 27.91% |
| Total | 551 | 1.06% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 49 | 21.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 442 | 19.28% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 24.39% |
| Other Language | 41 | 22.65% |
| Total | 542 | 1.11% |
* "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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