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 | 46,987 | 97.76% | 51,941 | 95.32% |
| Spanish | 322 | 0.67% | 1,475 | 2.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 496 | 1.03% | 330 | 0.61% |
| Asian Language** | 229 | 0.48% | 701 | 1.29% |
| Other | 31 | 0.06% | 44 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 48,065 | 100.00% | 54,491 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 899 | 60.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 55 | 16.67% |
| Asian Language** | 373 | 53.21% |
| Other Language | 8 | 18.18% |
| Total | 1,335 | 2.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 196 | 60.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 170 | 34.27% |
| Asian Language** | 106 | 46.29% |
| Other Language | 26 | 83.87% |
| Total | 498 | 1.04% |
* "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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