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 | 44,790 | 97.14% | 56,913 | 96.91% |
| Spanish | 417 | 0.90% | 823 | 1.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 872 | 1.89% | 777 | 1.32% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 0.05% | 143 | 0.24% |
| Other | 9 | 0.02% | 72 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 46,111 | 100.00% | 58,728 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 253 | 30.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 188 | 24.20% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 20.98% |
| Other Language | 36 | 50.00% |
| Total | 507 | 0.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 171 | 41.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 246 | 28.21% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 21.74% |
| Other Language | 3 | 33.33% |
| Total | 425 | 0.92% |
* "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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