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 | 37,378 | 94.56% | 39,785 | 96.70% |
| Spanish | 1,053 | 2.66% | 745 | 1.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 930 | 2.35% | 516 | 1.25% |
| Asian Language** | 110 | 0.28% | 80 | 0.19% |
| Other | 59 | 0.15% | 16 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,530 | 100.00% | 41,142 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 291 | 39.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 98 | 18.99% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 40.00% |
| Other Language | 7 | 43.75% |
| Total | 428 | 1.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 355 | 33.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 225 | 24.19% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 48.18% |
| Other Language | 18 | 30.51% |
| Total | 651 | 1.65% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy