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 | 35,314 | 92.47% | 37,780 | 87.11% |
| Spanish | 2,378 | 6.23% | 5,256 | 12.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 309 | 0.81% | 251 | 0.58% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 0.33% | 71 | 0.16% |
| Other | 63 | 0.16% | 12 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 38,190 | 100.00% | 43,370 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,179 | 60.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 35 | 13.94% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 39.44% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 3,242 | 7.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,242 | 52.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 78 | 25.24% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 48.41% |
| Other Language | 7 | 11.11% |
| Total | 1,388 | 3.63% |
* "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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