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 | 43,362 | 97.59% | 44,486 | 96.89% |
| Spanish | 413 | 0.93% | 712 | 1.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 493 | 1.11% | 460 | 1.00% |
| Asian Language** | 130 | 0.29% | 176 | 0.38% |
| Other | 33 | 0.07% | 78 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,431 | 100.00% | 45,912 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 152 | 21.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 61 | 13.26% |
| Asian Language** | 49 | 27.84% |
| Other Language | 22 | 28.21% |
| Total | 284 | 0.62% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 128 | 30.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 243 | 49.29% |
| Asian Language** | 51 | 39.23% |
| Other Language | 15 | 45.45% |
| Total | 437 | 0.98% |
* "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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