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 | 35,681 | 94.05% | 38,427 | 89.26% |
| Spanish | 455 | 1.20% | 1,278 | 2.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,175 | 3.10% | 1,671 | 3.88% |
| Asian Language** | 544 | 1.43% | 1,415 | 3.29% |
| Other | 84 | 0.22% | 260 | 0.60% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 37,939 | 100.00% | 43,051 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 412 | 32.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 283 | 16.94% |
| Asian Language** | 499 | 35.27% |
| Other Language | 50 | 19.23% |
| Total | 1,244 | 2.89% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 150 | 32.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 265 | 22.55% |
| Asian Language** | 263 | 48.35% |
| Other Language | 43 | 51.19% |
| Total | 721 | 1.90% |
* "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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