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 | 37,192 | 97.23% | 40,015 | 96.39% |
| Spanish | 490 | 1.28% | 727 | 1.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 385 | 1.01% | 406 | 0.98% |
| Asian Language** | 63 | 0.16% | 126 | 0.30% |
| Other | 122 | 0.32% | 238 | 0.57% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 38,252 | 100.00% | 41,512 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 286 | 39.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 52 | 12.81% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 38.10% |
| Other Language | 32 | 13.45% |
| Total | 418 | 1.01% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 217 | 44.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 18.96% |
| Asian Language** | 16 | 25.40% |
| Other Language | 40 | 32.79% |
| Total | 346 | 0.90% |
* "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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