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 | 39,754 | 97.79% | 35,052 | 98.56% |
| Spanish | 210 | 0.52% | 214 | 0.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 440 | 1.08% | 183 | 0.51% |
| Asian Language** | 146 | 0.36% | 76 | 0.21% |
| Other | 102 | 0.25% | 39 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 40,652 | 100.00% | 35,564 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 84 | 39.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 93 | 50.82% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 28.95% |
| Other Language | 18 | 46.15% |
| Total | 217 | 0.61% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 72 | 34.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 175 | 39.77% |
| Asian Language** | 62 | 42.47% |
| Other Language | 13 | 12.75% |
| Total | 322 | 0.79% |
* "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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