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 | 38,428 | 97.78% | 47,012 | 95.45% |
| Spanish | 358 | 0.91% | 1,422 | 2.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 270 | 0.69% | 320 | 0.65% |
| Asian Language** | 233 | 0.59% | 454 | 0.92% |
| Other | 13 | 0.03% | 47 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 39,302 | 100.00% | 49,255 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 602 | 42.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 86 | 26.88% |
| Asian Language** | 286 | 63.00% |
| Other Language | 30 | 63.83% |
| Total | 1,004 | 2.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 133 | 37.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 34 | 12.59% |
| Asian Language** | 141 | 60.52% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 308 | 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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