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 | 43,145 | 96.85% | 42,557 | 95.20% |
| Spanish | 771 | 1.73% | 1,504 | 3.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 376 | 0.84% | 271 | 0.61% |
| Asian Language** | 52 | 0.12% | 190 | 0.43% |
| Other | 204 | 0.46% | 182 | 0.41% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,548 | 100.00% | 44,704 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 723 | 48.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 72 | 26.57% |
| Asian Language** | 92 | 48.42% |
| Other Language | 28 | 15.38% |
| Total | 915 | 2.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 262 | 33.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 132 | 35.11% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 81 | 39.71% |
| Total | 501 | 1.12% |
* "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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