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 | 40,107 | 88.77% | 43,362 | 83.81% |
| Spanish | 3,784 | 8.37% | 6,947 | 13.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 891 | 1.97% | 739 | 1.43% |
| Asian Language** | 338 | 0.75% | 488 | 0.94% |
| Other | 63 | 0.14% | 205 | 0.40% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 45,183 | 100.00% | 51,741 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,582 | 51.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 171 | 23.14% |
| Asian Language** | 196 | 40.16% |
| Other Language | 78 | 38.05% |
| Total | 4,027 | 7.78% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,966 | 51.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 19.87% |
| Asian Language** | 205 | 60.65% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 2,348 | 5.20% |
* "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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