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 | 37,215 | 96.90% | 56,558 | 95.74% |
| Spanish | 263 | 0.68% | 1,179 | 2.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 706 | 1.84% | 978 | 1.66% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 0.34% | 253 | 0.43% |
| Other | 93 | 0.24% | 106 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 38,406 | 100.00% | 59,074 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 388 | 32.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 265 | 27.10% |
| Asian Language** | 118 | 46.64% |
| Other Language | 29 | 27.36% |
| Total | 800 | 1.35% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 72 | 27.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 25.07% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 20.16% |
| Other Language | 3 | 3.23% |
| Total | 278 | 0.72% |
* "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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