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 | 43,086 | 97.17% | 49,506 | 96.68% |
| Spanish | 430 | 0.97% | 964 | 1.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 747 | 1.68% | 603 | 1.18% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 0.07% | 116 | 0.23% |
| Other | 45 | 0.10% | 17 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,341 | 100.00% | 51,206 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 448 | 46.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 197 | 32.67% |
| Asian Language** | 50 | 43.10% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 695 | 1.36% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 75 | 17.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 199 | 26.64% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 6.06% |
| Other Language | 26 | 57.78% |
| Total | 302 | 0.68% |
* "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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