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 | 36,654 | 97.53% | 43,131 | 96.26% |
| Spanish | 438 | 1.17% | 1,071 | 2.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 405 | 1.08% | 310 | 0.69% |
| Asian Language** | 77 | 0.20% | 268 | 0.60% |
| Other | 10 | 0.03% | 26 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 37,584 | 100.00% | 44,806 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 522 | 48.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 49 | 15.81% |
| Asian Language** | 113 | 42.16% |
| Other Language | 7 | 26.92% |
| Total | 691 | 1.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 106 | 24.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 139 | 34.32% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 51.95% |
| Other Language | 10 | 100.00% |
| Total | 295 | 0.78% |
* "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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