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 | 33,928 | 91.82% | 34,270 | 88.32% |
| Spanish | 2,445 | 6.62% | 3,810 | 9.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 419 | 1.13% | 442 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 129 | 0.35% | 225 | 0.58% |
| Other | 31 | 0.08% | 54 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 36,952 | 100.00% | 38,801 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,852 | 48.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 96 | 21.72% |
| Asian Language** | 98 | 43.56% |
| Other Language | 16 | 29.63% |
| Total | 2,062 | 5.31% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,258 | 51.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 152 | 36.28% |
| Asian Language** | 46 | 35.66% |
| Other Language | 25 | 80.65% |
| Total | 1,481 | 4.01% |
* "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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