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 | 24,339 | 89.39% | 42,350 | 88.77% |
| Spanish | 1,074 | 3.94% | 2,350 | 4.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,561 | 5.73% | 2,498 | 5.24% |
| Asian Language** | 219 | 0.80% | 366 | 0.77% |
| Other | 36 | 0.13% | 143 | 0.30% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,229 | 100.00% | 47,707 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 744 | 31.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 819 | 32.79% |
| Asian Language** | 132 | 36.07% |
| Other Language | 39 | 27.27% |
| Total | 1,734 | 3.63% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 397 | 36.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 516 | 33.06% |
| Asian Language** | 91 | 41.55% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,004 | 3.69% |
* "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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